The Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series proudly welcomed Becky Hammon, the first female NBA Assistant Coach and former WNBA All-Star on September 21, 2015 for the first of three Volpe lectures during the Fall semeseter.

Watch the SFCTV profile on Becky Hammon

Hammon was hired as a full-time Assistant Coach by the San Antonio Spurs beginning in the 2014-2015 season. This past summer she also was Head Coach of the Spurs Summer League team leading them to a league title for the first time.

Before coaching, Hammon played in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars. She was a 7 time All-Star and scored more than 5,000 points during her career.

Becky Hammon is the first of three Volpe Lecture Series speakers. The next two speakers are:

• November 16 - Steve Hindy, Co-Founder, Brooklyn Brewery
• February 29, 2016 - Glenn Adamson, Director, Museum of Arts and Design

The lecture series is funded through a generous gift from Thomas J. Volpe, Chairman Emeritus of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees and a former Senior Vice President of Financial Operations for The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc..

Guest speakers offer an international perspective in a variety of fields; from business leaders to world leaders. Past speakers include astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson (Cosmos), Jerry Greenfield (Ben & Jerry's), authors Frank Bruni (New York Times), Pete Hamill (Snow in August), E.L. Doctorow (Ragtime) and Salman Rushdie (Midnight's Children), Russell Simmons (Def Jam), Mariane Pearl (wife of slain reporter Daniel Pearl), Paul Rusesabagina (the real Hotel Rwanda hero), Lech Walesa (former President of Poland, Nobel Prize winner) and George Mitchell (former U.S. Senator, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, baseball steroids report).