Gail Marquis
Olympian Athlete

Gail Marquis’ background as a professional basketball player, Olympic Champion and Silver Medalist taught her how to take a disciplined approach to meeting her long-term goals. It is the same approach she displays as part of her community and civic responsibilities.

Ms. Marquis made the move from professional sports to financial services and then academia. She served as the Regional Director of the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at New Jersey City University (NJCU) where she managed a team of 15 members in support of small businesses in Hudson County (NJ). She was promoted to University Advancement as Director of Development for the William J. Maxwell College of Arts & Sciences and the NJCU Foundation. Ms. Marquis was a member of the USA Olympic Team where she won a Silver Medal in Basketball. It was the first-time women’s basketball was played in the Olympic Games.

Ms. Marquis is very familiar “with being first”. At Queens college, she captained the first women’s basketball team – college or pro – to play in Madison Square Garden. She was a member of the first women’s pro basketball team to play in Madison Square Garden and win a professional basketball championship. She was one of the first women to venture abroad to play professional basketball as an American on an International team.

A candid storyteller and powerful speaker, Marquis readily shares her Olympic experiences. She empowers listeners to act and create their own dreams and goals. Ms. Marquis remains a strong advocate for education, women and sports. She serves on the boards of the Queens College Foundation to provide more extensive educational opportunities to students and service to faculty. She served as trustee on the board of The Wellesley Centers for Women; the largest social science organization in the U.S. dedicated to gender research. Current board service includes, The Women’s Sports Foundation, The Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County and Hudson County Enterprises among others.

A 13-time Hall of Famer, Marquis was the first woman of color and only the 2nd female player inducted into the prestigious New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Inaugural Class of the Queens College Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Most recently, her 1976 USA Olympic Team was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, Class of 2023. The epitome of basketball recognition. Ms. Marquis is a 13-time recipient of Lifetime Achievement and Business Visionary Awards. She was recognized by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health with their Inaugural Trailblazer Award recognizing the 40th Anniversary of Title IX – a groundbreaking statute intended to end sexual discrimination in education and athletics. In 2023, she was honored with the Joe Lapchick Character Award by the Lapchick Foundation.

Ms. Marquis studied French at the Université of Nice in France. She earned her B.A. in Education and Psychology at Queens College (NY), and her M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix (AZ). Ms. Marquis lives in New Jersey with her life partner of many years, Audrey Smaltz.