Michele Wright

Dr. Michele Wright 

Michele Wright, Ph.D., is the Director of Business Development and Outreach for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

Throughout her career as an innovator, educator, entrepreneur, creative, senior executive, nonprofit leader, mentor, and advocate, Dr. Wright has earned accolades for her profound commitment to highlighting and driving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Leveraging advanced degrees in both engineering and public policy, Wright had led an array of initiatives, campaigns, and organizations focused on improving visibility, access, and opportunity for underrepresented communities, with a particular emphasis on health equity.

A native of Tuskegee, Alabama, Wright is the 2022 USA TODAY Woman of the Year for Arkansas and a 2023 AARP Purpose Prize Fellow in recognition of her global impact and nationally recognized contributions to diversity, inclusion, and health equity. She is the recipient of the Nations of Women Change Makers 2021 Global Leadership Award.

Wright earned her Ph.D. in public policy, with a double specialization in health and leadership policy, from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She holds a Master of Science from the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), where she chartered the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), was the university’s first GEM Fellow, and was the first African-American full-time student to receive a master’s degree in engineering management/industrial engineering. At Tuskegee University, she received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and graduated electrical engineering student of the year.

Wright always has believed that “the best is yet to come.” She takes this philosophy forward as she continues her work to make a positive impact for children, women, and underrepresented populations worldwide. She and her husband reside in North Little Rock, Arkansas.