Leslie Valentine receives SPC Distinguished Alumni Award

LEVELLAND – On multiple occasions, South Plains College alumna Leslie Valentine has been recognized for her strategic mindset and leadership in the sporting goods industry. After many years of working in the field, this senior regional product creation director at Nike is adding the SPC Distinguished Alumni Award to her achievements.

Valentine was honored during SPC’s annual Scholarship Banquet on Thursday. Vernon Norwood, gold medalist in the men’s 4x400-meter relay during the 2024 Summer Olympics, also received the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Valentine is a Tahoka native and a graduate of Tahoka High School. She attended SPC from 1984 to 1986 and received an Associate of Arts.

“My older sister had gone [to SPC] before me, so I had a little bit of an idea of what it was like there just from her experience,” Valentine said regarding why she attended the college. “Also, I wanted to go there because I felt like South Plains was a really good steppingstone for me coming from a really small high school.”

Valentine said she wanted to be a part of a smaller campus, and she soon found her place at SPC. She was even named a recipient of SPC’s Smallwood Scholarship.

While at SPC, Valentine played the trumpet in the band, for which she received another scholarship. She said the band helped her meet new people and participate in basketball games and other events. Along with her responsibilities in the band, Valentine worked as a tutor in the Learning Center under the leadership of Center Director Gail Malone. She also served as a resident assistant during her second year at SPC.

“Because [SPC] was smaller, I was able to connect better and gain mentors,” she said. “I learned a lot from many individuals.”

The late Gary Wynn, who taught anthropology, history and sociology at SPC, was one instructor Valentine said inspired her to continue learning. In addition, Valentine credits Gwen Wynn, a former instructor in SPC’s Social Science Department, as a lifelong mentor.

“[Gwen] believed I could achieve more and do more than I thought I could,” Valentine said.

In addition to her education, Valentine has earned the Intercultural Development Inventory certification from Kaleidoscope Executive Consultants and a professional certificate in strategic foresight from the University of Houston.

After leaving SPC, Valentine attended Texas Tech University where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1988. In her first role after graduating from Texas Tech, Valentine worked in retail at the Lady Foot Locker store in the South Plains Mall in Lubbock. During her decade of experience with Foot Locker, she ended up in the company’s corporate office in New York as a buyer and merchandiser. From 1999 to 2004, she applied her skills in merchandising and product creation roles at Adidas.

Valentine started at Nike as a sales account executive in 2004. She recently completed 20 years at Nike and has held other roles, such as product director and senior product director.

“My most recent role there was overseeing all of our Asia-based footwear product creation,” she said.

Being based in Singapore was an amazing experience for Valentine, and she was fortunate to manage teams in China, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Valentine, now based in Oregon, continues to work for Nike. Her time at the company has consisted of team and business management in every sports category. Some of the large teams she managed consisted of more than 100 employees.

With over 35 years of experience driving strategic growth in product creation and management, Valentine has been recognized for her people-first approach and results-driven leadership. She has earned Nike Maxim Awards for The Consumer Decides and Master the Fundamentals, which have benefited her in many ways.

“I was able to be on a committee that was cross-functional,” she said regarding the impact of one of her Maxim Awards. “Individuals from all across the organization were brought together to work on a process and solve a problem. I love that kind of work, and many of those processes are still in place at Nike.”

Valentine has also completed the Dare to Lead Training through Brene’ Brown Brave Leaders Inc. Having been a leader for teams across multiple organizations, she said she is grateful for the different experiences she has gotten and the many people she has met.

“It’s my diverse set of experiences that I’m able to bring to things and also give back in the space of leadership or mentorship,” she said.

Looking ahead, Valentine said she hopes to continue serving as a mentor in some way. While working in Singapore, she helped employees work on their individual development by establishing a curriculum.

“It gave me a lot of joy to do that, and the feedback I got from others when I did it was great,” she said.

As an SPC Distinguished Alumni honoree, Valentine said she is thrilled and has had the chance to reflect on her career and connect with Gwen Wynn again.

“This is just a delightful surprise for me,” Valentine said regarding the Distinguished Alumni Award. “It has sent me down an SPC memory lane.”