The Celtics' Allison Feaster is Thayer's 2024 Commencement Speaker

Allison Feaster, vice president of team operations & organizational growth for the Boston Celtics, will be the guest speaker for Thayer’s Commencement exercises to be held Saturday, June 8, at 9:30 a.m. on the front lawn of Main Campus.

During Feaster’s 17-year career as a professional basketball player, she was a first-round WNBA draft pick in 1998; competed for the Los Angeles Sparks, the Charlotte Sting, and the Indiana Fever; and played for teams in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal. During her collegiate career as a forward for Harvard University, Feaster was the first athlete in any sport to be named Ivy League Player of the Year three times. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year during her freshman year; led the nation in scoring during her senior year; and led Harvard, a No. 16 seed, to an upset victory over No. 1 seed Stanford in the first round of the 1998 NCAA tournament — the first and only time a  No. 16 seed has defeated a top seed in the women’s tournament. 

Following her retirement as a player in 2016, Feaster began working in NBA operations and management. She also serves on the NCAA’s Board of Governors; is a sports envoy for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; and co-leads Boston Celtics United, the team’s social justice initiative that fights social and racial inequities in Black and Brown communities in the Boston area. 

Feaster is a leader, a team-builder, and — as one of the only women of color to have served in an executive role for an NBA team — a trailblazer. The Academy is honored to have her give this year’s Commencement address.  

This will be the school’s 146th Commencement; in all, the Thayer Academy Class of 2024 includes 137 graduating seniors.

Members of the Thayer community will be able to watch the June 8 Commencement ceremony live online via a computer or mobile device. More details will be forthcoming in an email that will be sent to community members. 

In the event of rain, ceremonies will be held in Alumni Gym.