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Anita Maxwell
Anita Maxwell is a former professional basketball player and stand-out athlete at New Mexico
State University, where she was the first player in NCAA history, including men and women, to
score 2500 points, 1000 rebounds and record 300 steals in a career. She is currently Director of
Community Relations for Consumers’ Choice Health Plan, a newly created health insurance
company in South Carolina.
Maxwell was a three sport athlete at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, TX, before receiving a
basketball scholarship to play at New Mexico State University, where she graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in international business. Anita was named freshman of the year and three-time
player of the year in the Big West Conference. She competed on the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival
Team for the West. She was a three time Kodak, AP and UPI All America Honorable Mention
selection. Her accomplishments led her to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd on
August 8, 1996. Anita was inducted into New Mexico State’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. She is the
only female athlete and first basketball player to have her jersey retired at the school. Following four
years of college, she ventured overseas to play for ASA Jerusalem in Israel.
In 1997, she was drafted by the Cleveland Rockers in the inaugural season of the WNBA. Anita
played one season with the Rockers, then returned overseas to play for Beşiktaş Külubü in Istanbul
for two seasons. She played her final season with Nirosoft Carmiel in Israel before her other interests
began calling her to life beyond basketball. She completed her professional career with a 20
point/10 rebound scoring average.
Since retiring from professional basketball in 1999, Anita has been working in the sales and
marketing and non-profit sectors. In 2003, her passion for service and deeper connectivity to
the community led her to graduate school to study Urban Affairs and Nonprofit Management.
She strengthens that connection by supporting United Way and community based programming
through membership in public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Maxwell’s broad leadership goal is to strengthen her ability to see the big picture and take a
longer range, broader business perspective as she advances in her career.