Women of Concern Professionals Strategic Consciousness Networking Vol 1 Issue 5 | Page 5

Page 5

WOMEN OF CONCERN PROFESSIONALS STRATEGIC

Ramona Wright Inspired Life-Inspiring Lives
I was extremely excited to interview Ramona Wright face to face. I was inspired by this young woman’s life and her story will no doubt inspire millions more. There are people born in this world and they become great. But there are rare people who are born great. I believe Ramona Wright was born great. She of course is a beauty but she is not simply a beautiful face; she is a beautiful being. We meet at the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel for the first time and the purpose was to interview her for a WOCP TV segment “Inspired Life-Inspiring Lives” because Ramona has a very inspiring story. Despite coming from humble beginning she is a consummate philanthropist, a connector, a mover and shaker but you’d never know unless you know. There is no superimposing persona, grandiose attitude with the R. Wright brand but yet her presence fills a room. As giving people do we greeted one another with an embrace, eased into conversation and commenced the interview. Ramona’s life came to my attention through the death of her mother, Adelaide Smith, a former graduate college classmate of mine. Adelaide and I were not close although I wish now that I had known her better and had more opportunity to fellowship with her. I feel strongly that Adelaide and would have been great friends. She left behind two amazing people to continue her legacy, Ramona Wright, her daughter and her son, Voltaire Davis (featured in March and May WOCPSCN Newsletter). I get excited when I look at Adelaide’s children and see the amazing beings they both are because this is the hope I have for my own adult children.

Ramon Wright Publisher, Wiles Magazine Serial Entrepreneur Philanthropist

Ramona credits God, her mother and important life experiences with the way she turned out, and how she chooses to live her life— limitlessly. She spoke of humble beginnings and the upbringing Adelaide ‘the Water Walker’ Smith bestowed on her and Voltaire with wistful smile. We laughed at parental styling that compels her today to be so giving. Ramona thought back to times when the family would be performing charitable acts when they needed charity themselves. Ramona says she learned life lessons that her mother Adelaide did not readily embrace in her own life like learning to ask for help and taking time out for oneself. Wright knows it is the minor things like taking time out for oneself that makes a difference because without us nothing works. In her world of fundraising and philanthropy, Ramona understands the power of asking—ask and it shall be given to more specific. There is confidence in her that competes with her poise, wiles and competence ; combined these qualities and you get a spontaneous combustion that is powerful. It is no small wonder the R. Wright brand as I call this dynamic lady is international. Ramona is innovative and a visionary that is not afraid to give. I believe it is her giving nature that keeps her on the receiving end of recognition. In 2009, Ramona was a Rising Star nominee for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making a Difference Award. She is the recipient of 2011 Telly Award for a PSA (public service announcement) she wrote and produced that featured Academy Award winning Jaime Foxx and Ryan Seacrest for Weingart Center. She was named Top African American Public Relations Agents by MadamNoire.com. We spoke briefly about what living limitless means to her and she again pointed me back to the upbringing she received from Adelaide, a single mother raising her children in poverty. Apparently, Adelaide ’the Water Walker’ instilled in Ramona and Voltaire poverty is a state of mind one not to embraced. Adelaide demonstrated and modeled a life that Ramona and Voltaire continue to live out—you can be and do anything you desire. The list of Ramona’s professional and business accomplishments is outstanding and impressive. She is a woman of many talents but she is predominantly a connector, an ambassador of good will, and profound leader of socio-economic change for the disfranchised across the globe. Her business ventures and associations read like a who’s who list in the world of entertainment and media. Most notable of among them are Sony Music, Reebok, Oxfam America, The Grammy Museum, Georgetown University, and the Milken Institute to name a few. Ramona is also an Educator and Lecturer at her alma mater Loyola Marymount University teaching over 200 students Principles in Public Relations. She the Publisher and Co-Founder of Wiles Magazine, an online publication that is read in over 100 countries. She also is the co-founding Producer of Moja-Moja Pre-Grammy Brunch and Benefit Concert. Most inspiring about the R. Wright Brand is her humble-giving heart that remembers her greatest inspirations, God, her mother and lessons she learned from others. Click here to see the full Ramona Wright Interview.