Tuskegee Roots Inspire Public Policy Alumna's Fight for Health Equality

Lisa Williams Photography

Dr. Michele Wise Wright

Michele Wise Wright was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, to Frankie Berry and Garland Wise, in the same hospital where the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was being conducted by the U.S. government. The experiment to observe the effects of untreated syphilis on Black men unaware of their diagnoses became one of the most infamous and unethical medical studies in the history of the country. It also became a prime motivator for Wise Wright's lifetime of work breaking down barriers and promoting health equity among Black and other minority communities.

"One thing that motivates me and keeps me going is making a profound difference in the lives of others — not only today, but for generations to come," she said. "Tuskegee being in my DNA has a lot to do with what I do."  

Wise Wright wears many hats in her work to ensure equal access to health among minorities: she's an entrepreneur, business executive, engineer, writer, director, and producer, among other titles. But she's most notably an advocate and a problem solver, work that she's well-equipped for thanks in part to her public policy doctoral degree from the University of Arkansas.

After earning her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Tuskegee University, she became the first African American full-time student to receive a Master of Science in Engineering Management and Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. She worked jobs in engineering and pharmaceuticals, the latter of which led her to Arkansas.

"I relocated here in 1996 and never wanted to leave," she said. "This is my home."

When she found out about the public policy program at the U of A, she saw the interdisciplinary degree as "new, exciting, and game-changing."

"When I found out the U of A had a degree in public policy, I thought, 'This is it. This is what I want to do,'" she added. "The fact that the program was interdisciplinary, coupled with the university's reputation for academic excellence, made it a no-brainer."

In the program, Wise Wright focused her research on health and leadership and participated in several initiatives in healthcare and community development. The interdisciplinary nature of the program helped influence Wise Wright's interdisciplinary approach to health equity, one that includes work in both the private and nonprofit sectors. She developed a screening tool to help diagnose people of color with cystic fibrosis, established an annual BIPOC rare disease conference and lecture series, and founded the My Water Buddy and My Learning Buddy "edutainment" platforms.

She served as the writer, director, and executive producer of the multiple award-winning short film 54 Years Late: The Terry Wright Story, a film documenting her husband's health struggles and his late diagnosis of cystic fibrosis at the age of 54. She also serves as director of business development and outreach for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

But perhaps most notably, she has become a leader in numerous health-related nonprofit organizations. She became chief executive officer of the Greater Ozarks-Arkansas Region branch of the American Red Cross and founded the National Organization of African Americans with Cystic Fibrosis. Her time in the public policy program was also key in her writing Terry Wright's Law, a piece of legislation she hopes to help pass that would require more extensive cystic fibrosis screenings to be conducted on newborns.

"We do a lot of advocacy, outreach, and education based on cystic fibrosis and rare diseases," she said. "That was out of our devastating journey of going 54 years without a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis based on someone's race and ethnicity. That was our opportunity to turn our situation into something positive and impactful for others."

Wise Wright also speaks extensively at conferences and events across the country. Just this year, she has spoken at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2024 virtual meeting; the American Thoracic Society's Public Advisory Roundtable's 18th annual Patients & Experts Forum; and has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker for the Global Gene's 2024 RARE Health Equity Forum. She has also been invited to speak at the 2024 North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference. She has been featured in articles in USA Today, National Geographic, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Her work has generated plenty of awards and publicity. She was named the 2022 USA Today Woman of the Year for Arkansas and a 2023 AARP Purpose Prize Fellow. In 2022, she and her husband made history as the first persons of color to receive the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Arkansas Chapter's annual "Breath of Life Award," the organization's highest award. This spring, she earned the 2024 King Kennedy Awards' Irma Hunter Brown Women's Leadership Award and the 2024 Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement during the National Society of Black Engineers 50th Convention. This fall, Wise Wright will also receive the University of Tennessee's 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award.

"Dr. Wise Wright's Lifetime Achievement Award from NSBE is a well-deserved honor, reflective of her outstanding leadership and excellent work during her career," said Brinck Kerr III, director of the public policy program. "We are spreading the word about her successes here at U of A — and we feel privileged to feature her as one of our distinguished and accomplished alumnae."

"These awards are a dream come true, because they are confirmation that my work matters, that my work is making a difference," she said. "I realize that no one has to recognize you. And when people do, I never take it for granted. I never take for granted people giving me a kind word, and I don't take for granted my professors at the U of A — Dr. Kerr, Dr. Anna Zajicek, Dr. Dona Reese, and the late Dr. James 'Jim' Swartz — my classmates, and many others at the U of A who have left an indelible mark on my life. It takes a village, and I'm grateful for my U of A village."

As varied as Wise Wright's work is, she focuses it all toward a common goal — not just raising awareness and engaging others, but toward a vision of a world where people from underrepresented communities don't have to struggle to find equitable healthcare.

"We connect with people around the world who say, 'I need help; nobody is taking me seriously,' and we have gotten involved and made a difference by helping to save those people's lives," she said. "To me, there's no better gift than the gift of giving and making a life-changing difference in the lives of others. That blesses me more than any amount of money or accolades I can receive."