Athlete helping athletes

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

Former Lehigh women's basketball standout Erica Prosser aspires for greatness in everything she does.

Not only was Prosser successful at Lehigh, but she's enjoyed success after graduation. She is currently working in Chicago in a philanthropic managerial firm called GG+A, Grenzebach Glier and Associates (Global Philanthropy Management Consulting Services). She has also completed a sports philanthropy certificate from George Washington University and is playing competitive 3-on-3 basketball at a high level.

All of Prosser's interests have come together towards one path, leading towards the goal of helping athletes give back.

"Ultimately, my goal is to move into consulting with professional athletes in their charitable endeavors, which is why I pursued the certificate - to get a little bit more academic background in the field," she said. "After I completed the certificate program, I started a website Philanthropy Playmakers for those who are already working in the sports philanthropy industry, which is thriving now. Athletes are expected to give back more and more, and use their platform and resources for good.
20971

"I started the website as a way for professionals to connect and hear about success stories and best practices, while sharing their knowledge with each other. People are doing good work and our site's objective is to amplify those stories and make sure everyone knows what good can be done through sport."

While at Lehigh, Prosser built a strong base of experience in sport and community service. Prosser currently stands third in school history with 1,676 career points and second with 541 career assists, she was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Year and an Academic All-Patriot League honoree as well. Prosser was also heavily involved in Student-Athletes Leading Social Change (SALSC) when as a sophomore, she spearheaded a fundraising campaign and traveled to Kenya to build a school.

More than any awards or statistics, Prosser built a foundation for success while at Lehigh, and it has carried over into post-graduation. That foundation is built around helping others.

"Growing up, my parents always taught me to treat others the way you want to be treated," said Prosser. "That was our motto, we always took that to heart and we were always watching my parents give back to our community in my hometown of Pittsburgh. I took that with me to Lehigh and was really grateful that my coaching staff, Coach Troyan, Joe Sterrett and [Director of Athletics Leadership Development] Julie Ammary gave me the opportunity to work on the SALSC project my sophomore year.

"That was really a launching point for me and solidified the fact I wanted to be in nonprofit in some capacity going forward."

After her Lehigh days, Prosser played a year of basketball overseas in Iceland. She came back to the United States, but had a continued itch for the sport.

"When I came home, I wasn't really playing at all. I was coaching a little bit - high school, grade school and AAU - but it was hard for me to play because I missed it so much," said Prosser. "Nothing really compares to college or professional basketball."

Then, an opportunity to play competitive 3-on-3 basketball came about.

"A Princeton basketball alum, John Rogers, really loves the game and really loves supporting younger players. He started sponsoring some Princeton alums to play 3-on-3," said Prosser. "He's been doing it for years. When I moved to Chicago, I connected with some of the Princeton basketball alumnae, we became friends and one's now my roommate. Through my friendship with them, I was asked to play last year. We started traveling together and playing in different tournaments.

"I was having fun again. It was a high level of play and I could get that similar feeling to college ball."

Even though it wasn't the typical 5-on-5 game she's used to, Prosser was having a blast playing a high level of basketball again.
20972

"This year, I actually got to compete at the national tournament in Colorado Springs, which was fun," she said. "Unfortunately, one of our teammates went down on the first day with an injury, so it was hard to compete after that, but it was really cool, just being at the training center, wearing USA Basketball and competing for the opportunity to represent our country.

"We did win the Chicago DewNBA3x Tournament, so we qualified for the National Tournament at the end of September in Venice Beach. It's really exciting and it's where we're focusing a lot of our energy now."

Ironically, the men's version of Prosser's 3-on-3 team now includes former Lehigh men's player Zahir Carrington.

"Even before he joined the 3-on-3 team, I realized that Zahir was friends in New York with one of our men's players," said Prosser. "When we were putting teams together, there was discussion that he might be a candidate for the fourth spot on the roster. As soon as I found out, I texted him and was really excited because I knew he was going to have a blast on these trips and getting back into basketball."

Prosser's time at Lehigh helped her in the vastly-different 3-on-3 game. Even though there are many differences between the games, it's still basketball.

"Defense still wins games and being mindful of strengths and weaknesses is even more important," said Prosser. "The games are relatively short when we play the FIBA International rules. It's a 12-second shot clock and 10-minute games or the first team to 21 points. Every possession is very important. Just learning to play in pressure situations and keeping your composure is definitely helpful."
20973

Prosser has fit in 3-on-3 basketball amidst a busy schedule, including her full-time job with GG+A.

"I actually got the GG+A job through a Lehigh connection, Chris Marshall, who used to coach swimming at Lehigh when I was a freshman," said Prosser. "He was a vice president here, Coach Troyan put us in touch and he was able to get me an interview. We do nonprofit consulting, fundraising strategy and those kinds of things. We do it for universities, academic medicine, arts and culture and social sector nonprofits. Our client list is extensive and very impressive. I've been here for four months, still learning a lot, but I'm hoping to eventually be a full-time consultant."

Prosser is supporting a special initiative in the office, which supports top clients.

"All of our consultants work remotely. I'm project manager, so I keep everyone on task," she said. "If we're doing a fundraising planning study for an institution, I'm coordinating schedules, setting up interviews, making sure the data we're collecting is clean and comprehensible, and making everything easily accessible for our consultants and our clients."

Prosser has a path in mind towards her ultimate goal of helping athletes give back. She's someone who's had a perspective from all angles, as an athlete and philanthropist.

"A big interest in this current job (GG+A) is that I'm learning a lot about consulting and what it takes to assess community programs, foundations and nonprofit operations so I'm better equipped to help whomever I end up working with (athletes, sports teams or sports nonprofits)," said Prosser. "My path has definitely been strategic and so far, it's been great. I'm working with some of the smartest minds in the development/philanthropic sector and learning a lot."

All of this would likely not be possible if it wasn't for Lehigh.

"Time management is crucial for my job. Everything I do is deadline driven," "said Prosser. "I definitely learned coordinating and communicating with different types of people from being a team captain at Lehigh. I learned a lot from my older teammates and my coaching staff as well.

"Had I not held a role in fundraising as part of SALSC, I would have never been qualified for my current job. It's funny that something I did sophomore year has had a direct line to a job six years out, but I really draw on that experience a lot and it definitely impacted my career trajectory."

19928

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Monmouth on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 62, to, 72

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at #2 Holy Cross on March 15, 2026 , Loss , 70, to, 77

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus #1 Navy on March 12, 2026 , Win , 81, to, 76 , OT

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus #5 Loyola University Maryland on March 9, 2026 , Win , 68, to, 54

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus American on March 4, 2026 , Loss , 60, to, 62

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Bucknell on February 28, 2026 , Loss , 45, to, 57

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Boston University on February 21, 2026 , Win , 76, to, 61

Lehigh University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos