Ketia Swanier Ketia Swanier grew up as a military brat for eighteen years, moving nine times within the United States, Europe, and with Grandparents. On August 10, 1986, she was born to two military parents who proudly served forty-five years between the both of them. As she watched her parents deploy to Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Saudi Arabia just to mention a few, she was always left behind in a single parent home or having to stay with grandparents not knowing when are if she would even see them again. Through all of the moving and deployments, she remained strong as possible, becoming more resilient, respectful, and humble, while persevering, maintaining her academic excellence in school with the support of her family, even from a distance. In November 2003, Ketia signed a National Letter of Intent to become a student-athlete at the University of Connecticut and played basketball for the most prominent and prestigious women’s basketball programs in the country. On April 4, 2008, she was drafted by the Connecticut Sun of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the 1st round with the 12th overall pick. On May 11, 2008, she graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. In her 2nd WNBA season, she played with the Phoenix Mercury making her presence felt playing an instrumental role in them winning the 2009 WNBA Championship. Passing on lucrative contracts to play professional basketball overseas during the WNBA off season, Ketia decided that it was more important to give back, share her knowledge and experience, and be a role model to those who needed her most during these difficult times; our military children. At the young age of 22 years old, she created and launched the Ketia4Kidz Foundation on August 25, 2008, founded upon the principles of college scholarships, role modeling for leadership, sportsmanship and strengthening interpersonal skills, as well as living healthier lifestyles, all characteristics she build upon while her parent(s) were deployed. As a motivational speaker to our military children she’s not speaking on what she thinks; she’s speaking on what she knows. Ketia Swanier has become the most marketable/recognizable philanthropic face and voice in the WNBA. She has visited troops in Afghanistan, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Benning, Georgia and more. She is the woman’s athlete that the Armed Forces turn to when an inspirational voice is needed.
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