While coming of age, Dr. Emily Moore found that she had an affinity for team sports and notes that she was always successful in her athletic endeavors. Emphasizing that “the team sprit carried over to my individual endeavors, setting an uncompromising standard of excellence,” Dr. Moore received a Bachelor of Science in physical education from Morgan State University in 1965. Continuing her academic pursuits, she also earned a Master of Science in education and counseling from Hofstra University in 1972 and, subsequently, a doctorate from Morgan State University, where she graduated with honors in 2015. She is certified in K-12 physical education by the State of New York.
Dr. Moore dedicated her professional life to the Ulysses Byas Elementary School within the Roosevelt School District for many decades prior to her academic retirement in 2019. Serving as a physical education teacher and varsity boys’ and girls’ tennis coach, she notably taught the acclaimed musician Chuck D. from Public Enemy and actor and comedian Eddie Murphy. Subsequent to her retirement, she was elected a member of the school board for the Roosevelt School District, where she has served since 2020.
Post-retirement, Dr. Moore has excelled as the founder and executive director of the Alliance Junior Tennis Development Program, Inc., a camp that leverages the sport of tennis to encourage students to use structure and discipline in their academic and athletic endeavors. Notably, through her program, many of her students were afforded opportunities to attend college on tennis scholarships. She has been lauded by the late Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson and, in 2019, she was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame by the United States Tennis Association in Brooklyn. Civically involved as well, Dr. Moore was a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Nigeria, as well as an organizer for The Friends of SNCC in Paris, France. Additionally, she served as an ambassador to the People-to People Program and served for three years in a delegation touring the United States and Tanzania. Furthermore, in 1972, she traveled to Puerto Rico, where she visited several schools, prisons, museums and libraries. Demonstrating versatility in her profession, Dr. Moore authored the poetry book “Just Like It Is.”
To attest to her success in the field, Dr. Moore was the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Award by Centennial Ave Elementary School in Roosevelt, New York, in 2019. She also received the Women of Distinction Award from Nassau County, New York, in 2015, as well as a plethora of other accolades related to her teaching and athletic prowess. The Alliance Junior Tennis Development Program was recognized with a Summer Appreciation Award, and Dr. Moore received a Tennis Development Award from the Black Tennis & Sprots Foundation. Likewise, she was named an Outstanding Citizen for contributions to improve education, earned the Arthur Ashe Multicultural Enhancement Award from the United States Tennis Association and the Building for Tomorrow Award, and was bestowed with an Outstanding Youth Advocate Award from the Eastern Long Island section of the Long Island Youth Foundation. In Harlem, New York, she earned the Woman of Excellence Award from the National Action Network.
