Charli Turner Thorne is a former head coach with a distinguished career in women's basketball. Born on March 10, 1966, she studied psychology at Stanford University, where she played basketball, graduating in 1988. She later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Washington in 1990.

Turner Thorne began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Washington in 1988, followed by an assistant coach role at Santa Clara in 1990.