The first thing Vanessa Blair-Lewis changed when she arrived to coach the women’s basketball team at George Mason University was the wall.
She took over a women’s basketball program that “hadn’t won a game,” and hung a banner in the practice facility that read “Future A-10 Champions.” Some questioned the move, but for Blair-Lewis, who grew up in Mitchellville, Md., and played for her father at Largo High School, it reflected her confidence in local talent and in what George Mason could become.
In the latest “Connect with County Leaders” podcast, she joins Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill to talk about her leadership approach and the future of women’s college basketball at George Mason University. The episode is part of a Black History Month series highlighting regional leaders whose work reflects long-term vision, resilience and meaningful local change.
Believing Big
Blair-Lewis made a deliberate decision to leave a successful program in Florida and return to Washington, D.C. region. She saw unfinished business in the region that shaped her, and she believed that its players could turn it around if given the right platform. That conviction guides her recruiting, her message to the team and how she talks about George Mason’s identity.
“I believe the DMV has the best talent in the country and I will stand by that,” she said. “We have some great basketball. I knew that we could change the culture, and we could recruit to the DMV; that we could be champions. That's where the mantra ‘Believe Big’ came in.”
Representation and Responsibility
Recruiting in the region and hanging ambitious banners are connected to a larger responsibility she feels as she reflects during Black History Month. She thinks often about who made her path possible and what it means to stand where she stands now.
“Heavy is the crown,” she said. “That goes for any leader of any minority sector. You're standing on the shoulders of giants that have come before you, and we are doing that every day. And what I said before about the poster that we hung in the arena: sometimes you have to see it to be it.”
She wants her players to understand both the pressure and the possibility that come with that legacy.
“Sometimes it’s not very easy walking in the door and you look like me—a female, African American. What we teach beyond the resilience on the court, we talk about the resilience in life.”
Cultivating Champions
Her approach has reshaped George Mason women’s basketball. Four years after taking over a winless program, Blair-Lewis led the Patriots to their first-ever Atlantic 10 championship in 2025 and an NCAA tournament berth. The “Future A-10 Champions” banner still hangs in the gym.
“We’re just going to put a line through it,” she said. “Because you sometimes have to look back to see where you’ve been to know that you can keep going.”
Blair-Lewis also points to the need for direct support to sustain and grow what the program has started. Initiatives such as the Champions Challenge and Friends of Women’s Basketball, she said, “allow you to pour into and invest in women’s basketball at George Mason University.”
“I always look at the women that I coach, and I bring my [two sons] around.” she said. “My players need to know that they are the next champions and leaders for our kids.”
Connect With County Leaders Podcast
The “Connect with County Leaders” podcast is an opportunity to meet and connect with Fairfax County leaders, to learn about the latest county news and information, and hear more on specific programs and services in Fairfax County. For the month of February, the podcast is focused each week on a different leader whose story honors Black History Month.
Listen or watch past episodes of “Connect with County Leaders” on SoundCloud, on YouTube and on Channel 16’s podcast on demand page. Listen to other Fairfax County podcasts or additional audio content at Fairfax County Government Radio.
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