Jeffrey Wright
Member at Large
Other Affiliations:
Urban Ministries Inc
Biography
Jeff Wright has had a career serving in for-profit businesses as well as in ministry and nonprofit organizations applying servant leadership strategies with significant impact. He is the chief executive officer of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.), a leading African American Christian media and publishing company producing magazines, books, curriculum, and digital content for churches and several denominations. At UMI, Jeff oversees the creation and development of the most widely used annual commentary and teaching resources in its market. He currently serves on the boards of Fuller Theological Seminary, the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation, the Baker Publishing Group, Oasis International, and Redeemer City to City. Previous board experience includes Thrivent Financial Credit Union, Fonkoze, the microfinance lender in Haiti, and the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association.
Jeff joined UMI after a career in the consumer products and healthcare industries working for two public companies, Johnson & Johnson, where he was a winner of the Johnson & Johnson Leadership Award, and at Bristol Myers Squibb where his last position was vice president of corporate development responsible for new products, licensing, and acquisitions. He also served as director of corporate development for the European pharmaceutical business of Bristol Myers Squibb.
Jeff has been active in ministry serving several congregations as associate pastor, director of Christian education, and adult Bible study teacher. He has also provided consulting to ministries including Focus on the Family, Operation Mobilization, Promise Keepers, and Wycliffe Bible Translators, among others. Jeff is a contributing author to the books Non Profit Leadership in a For Profit World and Chasing Paper: Critical Reflections On Christian Books and Publishing.
Education Description
Jeff holds a BA degree received with honors from Fisk University, a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Georgetown University, an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, and additional studies in business development at the Wharton School and the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers. He is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. Jeff taught courses in jurisprudence and ethics in the graduate school at the University of Evansville. Jeff and his wife Lakita Garth Wright live in Chicago, IL.