Keonna Farmer, MS
Keonna Farmer, MS, is an accomplished athletic administrator and educator with a passion for student and professional athlete development. She currently serves as the founding Athletic Director at Apple Academy High School, where she leads all aspects of athletic programs, operations, and personnel management. With a career spanning K–12 education, higher education, nonprofit work, and sports coaching, Keonna brings a unique blend of leadership, mentorship, and strategic vision to every role she undertakes.
As Athletic Director, Keonna oversees program development, team operations, and student-athlete growth while fostering an environment of excellence and inclusion. She has successfully secured over $2 million in grants, sponsorships, and partnerships to enhance athletic opportunities, and she actively mentors both students and staff to achieve their highest potential. Her hands-on approach emphasizes performance, teamwork, and holistic development, ensuring that student-athletes excel academically, socially, and athletically.
Keonna’s academic and professional achievements reflect her dedication to leadership and lifelong learning. She holds a Master of Science in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of West Alabama and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Additionally, she earned an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration from Trinity International University of Ambassadors, becoming the youngest recipient in the institution’s history. Keonna’s career demonstrates a steadfast commitment to empowering athletes, building strong programs, and creating lasting impact in her community.
• Project Management Certificate
• Recruiter Lite Certification
• The University of West Alabama - MS
• Division I Wall of Fame athlete recognition
• Girls INC Program
• HBCU Basketball League
• Apple Academy High School
• Girl Life Unlimited
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my late mother, Kelly Farmer, and my different experiences along the way. My mother is my biggest supporter and motivator. She has been a blueprint for me since I was in school, really my whole life, but once I started realizing what was going on in middle school and high school, that's when I started learning how amazing of a mother I had. When I got to college and met more people, I realized that we didn't have the same type of guidance and how it affected them with their degree choices and their career paths. It really started sticking to me then - oh, everybody don't have this type of mother. My mother poured into me anything I wanted to do, she supported me, she would research anything, send me a class on it. She taught me the importance of doing the right thing even if it hurts, sticking to my word, always leading with compassion and integrity with everything that I do. She taught me about seeing things through, doing things even when it's hard, doing things to advance myself even if it's no pay when you're young and starting out. She taught me the importance of putting myself out there and branding myself, marketing myself, the importance of mentors and networking. Before all these things became so social media popular, you didn't really hear about the word mentoring as much online before the pandemic, but she's been telling me these things since I was younger about having mentors in the athletic space and career space, and not just personal development space like the Girl Inc. programs. She's just been very instrumental in my life, ensuring that I choose the right journey, choose the right degree, the right classes, everything - maximizing all my opportunities, maximizing my scholarship opportunities and basketball career. Literally everything, she has been instrumental every step of the way and very supportive. Even until literally our last conversation before she passed was about me and my career and her giving me some advice to help me, and that was our last conversation.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have received is that understanding personality types will take you far in your career. I have learned that a lot this year. I manage so many personnel under me, and understanding different personality types has been crucial.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is navigating and collaborating effectively with a variety of personalities. I see this not just as a challenge, but also as an opportunity to strengthen communication, build stronger teams, and leverage diverse perspectives to achieve better outcomes.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The things that I value are innovation, education, equity, and empowerment, and I value those in all walks in my life. I also value relationships as well, support, social responsibility, community, and knowledge - those are my biggest core values in anything I do. Integrity is huge for me - I always do my best to lead through integrity. I just feel like all those things pretty much shape everything I do, all of my decisions, my initiatives, things that I support.