Chely Wright

Unispace

Chief Diversity Officer

Named “Top New Female Vocalist” by The Academy of Country Music, Chely Wright rose to fame as a commercial country singer in the ’90s, and has since released 9 studio albums and charted more than 15 singles on the Billboard charts, including “Shut Up and Drive,” “Single White Female,” and “The Bumper of My S.U.V.” In 2010, Wright released her eighth album,Lifted Off the Groundproduced by Rodney Crowell, revealing a dramatic artistic transformation and emerging as a singer-songwriter of the first order. Chely made history by being the first country music star to publicly come out as gay, which she wrote about in her 2010 memoir Like Me, published by Random House. She’s written songs for film, TV, and for other artists, spanning multiple genres. Upon coming out, Wright endeavored into advocacy and corporate engagement around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Wright currently serves as Chief Diversity Officer at Unispace–a global strategy, design, and delivery firm. She is also Vice-Chair of the Gay,Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Board of Directors, whichis the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Chely is a also the co-creator of My Moment: 106 Women on Fighting for Themselves (Simon and Schuster, May 2022)