Michele Wise Wright, Ph.D. is a multi-dimensional senior executive with experience providing dynamic leadership in diverse roles, including healthcare administration and business development to Fortune 100 companies and an international nonprofit organization. With advanced degrees in engineering and public policy, Dr. Wright brings a unique sensibility to her executive roles, combining the ability to share and communicate a vision for meaningful change with a practical approach to implementation and administration.
She is the CEO and Founder of My Water Buddy, Inc. and My Learning Buddy, Inc. My Water Buddy, Inc. is a multi-faceted enterprise that uses edutainment and, through its engaging cast of creative, fun, relatable, and aspirational characters fashioned as anthropomorphic organs, entertainingly promotes the benefits of drinking water and educates children and their families about the benefits of achieving a more fulfilling quality of life through a healthier body.
My Learning Buddy, Inc. is an edutainment platform featuring the My Water Buddy and Family® animated characters and provides unique opportunities for elementary and special education students to grow, excel, and succeed. It inspires total body participation in the classroom, while helping children learn to express their feelings and engage with the world outside of the classroom. Dr. Wright is the creator and writer of a series of My Learning Buddy edutainment programs, which offers Social-Emotional and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) edutainment curriculum.
She is also the author of the children’s book, “THE WATER TALES: Ten Life Lessons from My Water Buddy and Family,” an adventurous collection of ten short children stories that tell different tales centered around the importance of water, in addition to tapping into life topics that are important to children: autism, bullying, fears, self-esteem, peer pressure, etc.
She received Equanimity’s “Visionary Voice Award” for showcasing her innovative strategies and technological advancements as the creator of My Water Buddy® and My Learning Buddy®. She is also the recipient of the Sister Friends United, Inc. Women of Excellence Business award and their inaugural Five-Year Service award.
Dr. Wright is a nationally recognized motivational speaker. She was a featured speaker at the inaugural World Woman Summit, which included representatives from more than 10 different countries. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of receiving her Bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University, she returned to her alma mater and served as the keynote speaker for the Order of the Engineer spring commencement ceremony, which is held in honor and recognition of all engineering student graduates.
She was the guest speaker and the first recipient of the Outstanding STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Leadership award presented by the Area Development Director of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) on behalf of the South Metro Atlanta Tuskegee Alumni Club (SMATAC) during their Inaugural Signature Scholarship Gala.
Dr. Wright is the President and Board Chair of the Milton Pitts Crenchaw Aviation Training Academy (MPCATA), an organization with a mission to provide young people opportunities to pursue careers in aviation and the aerospace industry. She concurrently serves as a Board Member and the Technical Executive Officer for the Arkansas Mentoring and Networking Association, Inc. (AMNA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting opportunities for historically underrepresented STEM students in Arkansas, including opportunities to gain valuable access to STEM scholarships, internships, professionals, and careers.
She is a national and international multiple award-winning corporate leader who has worked with top-ranked corporations including Genentech Biotechnology Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and The Procter and Gamble Company. She also has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Ozarks-Arkansas Region (GOAR) with the American Red Cross.
She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, with a double specialization in health and leadership policy; a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), where she chartered the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and was UTSI’s first African-American full-time student to earn a Master’s degree in engineering management/industrial engineering; and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Tuskegee University, where she was Miss Engineering, President of the Engineering Representative Council, and graduated Electrical Engineering Student of the Year.
Michele’s life mantra is “The Best Is Yet to Come,” which she plans to extend to the fields of STEM and STEAM. She and her husband Terry reside in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
