SMPTE has announced the appointment of Michele Wright as director of business development and outreach. Wright will lead the Society’s marketing and sales teams and partner with SMPTE staff and volunteers to guide multiplatform marketing and outreach to new and diverse members and partners.
“With advanced degrees in both engineering and public policy, and a record of transformational leadership in diverse roles and environments, Michele comes to this SMPTE role ready to partner with colleagues in realising meaningful change and growth for the Society,” said SMPTE executive director David Grindle. “She has a unique ability to share and communicate a vision for change, and then to foster and guide a practical approach to implementation and administration — all aimed at improving operations and contributing to organisational growth and scaling. I am so pleased to welcome her to SMPTE.”
A native of Tuskegee, Alabama, Wright is the 2022 USA TODAY Woman of the Year for Arkansas and a 2022-2023 AARP Purpose Prize Fellow. She and her husband, Terry Wright, made history in 2022 as the first people of colour to be honoured by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) with the organisation’s top honour, the Breath of Life Award, and to be named CF Ambassadors. She is the recipient of the Nations of Women Change Makers 2021 Global Leadership Award and a nominee of the EveryLife Foundation of Rare Diseases’ RareVoice 2021 Award for Diversity Empowerment.
“I am beyond ecstatic to step into my new and adventurous role as SMPTE’s director of business development and outreach,” said Wright. “It is an ideal fit in merging my extensive background in STEM, administration, sales, marketing, and community outreach to help develop and expand SMPTE’s membership growth, business opportunities, and global profile to diverse new dimensions. As such, I am fully committed and excited to build positive and sustainable relationships with members, partners, and the industry as a whole.”
