ATLANTA (Aug. 6, 2026) – WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew announced today three additions to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association team.
Ivy Abiona joins the WBCA staff as the director of leadership and advocacy, Meredith Mesaris as the director of member learning and advancement, and Talisa Samano as the director of sponsorship sales. Samano begins her new position on Aug. 10. Abiona and Mesaris start on Aug. 17.
“We are excited to welcome Ivy, Meredith and Talisa as the newest members of the WBCA team,” said Donehew. “One of the most important responsibilities of a leader is to hire good people. Ivy, Meredith and Talisa quickly rose to the top of our candidate pool and will help us elevate the WBCA. Their experiences in coaching, administration and external relations will allow us to serve our members at an even higher level.”
Abiona comes to the WBCA from Northwestern University where she was director of player development with the Wildcats’ women’s basketball program for the past six seasons. Before reuniting with head coach Joe McKeown at Northwestern, Abiona was a business development and company operations fellow with Social Contract, a public-sector consulting firm. Prior to that she was a program director at Manhattan Youth and Long Island University Children’s Academy. Abiona played for McKeown at George Washington University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in speech and hearing in 2010 and a master’s degree in public health in 2012. She also received a graduate certificate in designing for organizational effectiveness from Northwestern in 2023. Abiona played professionally in Australia, Finland, Spain and Peru.
As the WBCA’s new director of leadership and advocacy, Abiona will serve as the staff liaison to members at NCAA Division I, II and III institutions and the WBCA conference captains in those divisions, and the Division I Stewardship Working Group, and will work with the “So You Want To Be A Coach” and Next Generation Institute alumni. Abiona also will serve as co-staff liaison to the WBCA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee among other responsibilities.
Mesaris most recently was head women’s basketball coach at Tufts University for the 2025-26 season. Before taking over the reins of the Jumbos, she was head coach at Vassar College for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. She was recognized as a WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree in 2024. Mesaris previously was an assistant coach at the University of Hartford (2022-23), Dartmouth College (2021-22), Williams College (2016-21) and Hendrix College (2015-16). She played collegiately at the University of Scranton under head coaches Mike Strong and Deanna Klingman. She was the Landmark Conference Player of the Year and a WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches’ All-American in her senior season (2014-15). Mesaris graduated magna cum laude from Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in management. She received a master’s degree in sports management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2020.
In her role as the WBCA’s new director of member learning and advancement, Mesaris will serve as point for member programming at the annual convention, oversee WBCA mentor programs, and serve as the staff liaison to WBCA members at NAIA institutions and two-year colleges. She also will manage the WBCA Career Center and serve as co-staff liaison, with Abiona, to the WBCA DEI committee.
Samano comes to the WBCA from HEI Hospitality where she served as senior sales manager of strategic and corporate partnerships since 2023. In that role, she managed the full sales cycle and developed partnerships, generating more than $2.5 million in annual business revenue. Before joining HEI, Samano held positions as assistant director of basketball operations with the Temple University women’s basketball program from 2018 to 2021. She was then promoted to director of student-athlete development, a position she held from 2021 to 2023, working under head coaches Tonya Cardoza and Diane Richardson. Samano is a 2010 graduate of Temple, where she was a student manager for the Owls’ women’s basketball team under head coaches Dawn Staley and Cardoza. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in public relations in 2010 and a master’s degree in executive sport business in 2021.
As the WBCA’s new director of sponsorship sales, Samano will lead the association’s corporate partnership and sponsorship program. She will develop and strengthen relationships with current partners, identify new business opportunities, and drive growth and engagement with sponsors that support women’s basketball.
About the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit WBCA.org for more details about the association.
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