Director of Athletics 

Themy Adachi
Haas Pavilion 109
510.430.3285
themy@mills.edu

Themy Adachi has been Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (APER) at Mills College since 2000. As an Asian American woman, Adachi represents less than 1% of NCAA athletic directors. Understanding the power and responsibility of such a position, Adachi advocates to create socially just and inclusive athletic opportunities for all students, including diverse populations, and to provide student-athletes with transformative learning through sport and civic engagement.

Under Adachi’s leadership, Mills College Athletics has been nationally recognized for its community service and outreach, having been a five time recipient of one of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators/ Josten’s Community Service Awards. Each year Mills College teams engage in community outreach projects to develop leadership skills and discover their power to impact the world.

In recognition of her leadership in making sports at Mills College accessible and inclusive to Alameda county residents, Adachi was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005 as the “Outstanding Woman of the Year in Sports and Athletics.” In 2009, Adachi received the United States Tennis Association Northern California Trailblazer Award, for “lifelong commitment to growing the sport of tennis in traditional and non-traditional communities.”

Adachi serves as a role model for women’s leadership and is committed to women’s leadership education. Currently Adachi is the chairperson of the NCAA Association of Division III Independents Initiative Grants Committee, and from 2004–2010 Adachi served as the California Pacific Conference President. Whether it’s supporting student-athletes to become a National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative, to go to NCAA leadership conferences, to participate in an Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Conference, or to become a team leader, Adachi emphasizes that everyone can be a leader because everyone can make a difference.

Consequently, Mills student-athletes have led the way. Last year a student-athlete became Mills College’s first representative on the NCAA Division III National SAAC and Management Council. Two Mills student-athletes have been honored at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Conference as Coca-Cola Community All-Americans. In 2008–2009, both the Mills College Swimming and Cross Country teams received the most esteemed award of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), in recognition of being the NAIA team that best represented the NAIA Champions of Character five core tenets. Two Mills College athletes have received Arthur Ashe Award recognition for academic excellence and community activism. Last spring, the Mills Student-Athlete Advisory Committee led a cutting edge workshop on inclusion of transgender athletes. Mills student-athletes are making their mark in today’s global society.