PHOENIX -- Arizona Diamondbacks Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer Nona Lee will be presented with a Woman of Inspiration Award by the Arizona chapter of Women in Sports & Events (WISE) during tonight’s inaugural awards presentation, to be held virtually. Lee will be honored alongside Karen Rausch of the Phoenix Suns and Kate Girotti of ASM Global/Gila River Arena.

“I am proud to work for an organization that prioritizes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and that has supported my efforts as an advocate for women in sports since I founded PWSA in 2001,” said Lee. “I am also incredibly proud of the remarkable women who founded the Arizona Chapter of WISE, and am humbled to have been selected for this honor. I would also like to congratulate my fellow honorees, Karen Rausch and Kate Girotti. I look forward to continuing to be a member of WISE – Arizona, and supporting the organization in whatever ways I can.”

Lee has spent 21 years with the D-backs, overseeing all legal issues for the organization. Before dedicating her time solely to the D-backs, she served as Associate General Counsel (2000-04) and VP and Associate General Counsel (2004-05) for the Phoenix Suns, D-backs, Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Rattlers, Chase Field, US Airways Center and Dodge Theater.

In addition to overseeing the legal department, Lee leads the team’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. She is a founding council member of D-backs for Change (dbacks.com/change), an Arizona Diamondbacks’ business and community initiative that seeks to level the playing field for our Team Players and community members by: (i) making an unequivocal commitment to improving organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion, and putting a robust plan in place and taking the necessary steps to do so; and (ii) seeking to improve the lives of those who have been and continue to be disadvantaged as a result of systemic social injustice, such as racism, sexism, homophobia and discrimination of all kinds. Lee is a founding co-chair of the D-backs Women Team Player Resource Group (TPRG), sponsor and member of the LGBTQ+ TPRG and Black Professionals and Allies TPRG and a member of the People with Disabilities TPRG.

Lee is active in the community, currently serving on the board of directors and as Immediate Past-President of the Sports Lawyers Association and the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. In addition, Lee is an Arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s Sports Law and Commercial Business Panels. Lee also currently serves as a member the Board for Arizona State University’s Sports Law & Business Program and a member of the Board of Advisors of the National Sports Law Institute. She was recently selected to serve as a panelist on the NCAA Independent Review Panel.

She is the founder of the Phoenix Women’s Sports Association, an Arizona non-profit organization whose mission is to help girls and women find their power through sports. In addition, she has served on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation in New York, a non-profit organization founded by Billie Jean King that is dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity and currently serves as part of the Trustee Emeritus Group for the Women’s Sports Foundation. In the past, Lee has served on the Board of the Phoenix Regional Sports Commission, the Pepperdine Athletic Board, the board of Florence Crittenton, and the Board of Directors of the YWCA of Maricopa County.

Lee was recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal as one of the Women in Business honorees and was an Athena Award honoree. She has been recognized by Republic Media as one of the 50 Highest Ranking Women in Business in Arizona and in 2018, was recognized by the Sports Business Journal as a Game Changer. In 2019, Phoenix magazine placed Lee on its first-ever list of the “Great 48,” and that year, was recognized by the Arizona State Bar Association as Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year.

WISE is the leading voice and resource for professional women in the business of sports. The Arizona chapter launched in 2018 and the national organization, headquartered in New York City, was founded in 1993.