About Dr. Jeri L. Wright

Dr. Jeri L. Wright, a prophetic problem solver, humanitarian, and high‐performing, strategic‐thinking professional, is a native of Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Jeri is committed to achieving excellence, wellness, and wholeness through the intersection of faith and the development of creative programming and initiatives for enhanced cultural competencies and community building in entrepreneurial, non-profit, and for-profit environments. 

Jeri L. Wright is a woman of many roles and deep faith, dedicated to serving others and living her beliefs. She is a daughter, sister, mother, Godmother, widow, and loyal friend who prioritizes family and embodies perseverance. Coined as “The Mother of Transformation,” Jeri believes in expressing love through action and strives to be a positive example for others.

With such skills and competencies as new business development, relationship building, public relations, branding, copyrighting, communication, media consulting, project management, strategic planning, non-profit consulting, staff management, policy development, budget planning and preparation, community organizing, fundraising, event management, editing, journalism, public speaking, creative writing, creative video production, training and development, program development, and personal development coaching, Jeri is whom everyone wants on their team!

Putting those skill sets into action, Jeri is a change agent and consultant for countless businesses and industries including religious and social justice organizations, health care, restaurant and service, fashion and design, and education. She created and built a multi-million dollar media services department for the largest church in the United Church of Christ denomination (1972-2008), growing the department from a staff of one to a paid staff of 30 and 300 unpaid ministry partners/volunteers. Not only was Jeri department director, she was also editor-in-chief of a newsmagazine she transformed, at the pastor’s request, from a church magazine into an internationally distributed worldwide newsmagazine for the socially conscious. Simultaneously, for a five-year stint, Jeri was also the Chief Operations Officer of an OB/GYN medical practice.

Rev. Jeri is the Oikos Institute for Social Impact National Conference Director, connecting faith-inspired leaders and place-based investors/funders to help faith communities and anchor institutions – including historically Black educational institutions (HBEI) - harness the power of their assets for communal transformation and economic mobility. 

Founder, executive director, and visionary of The Butterfly Effect (TBE) ministering to the soul of justice-impacted women, their children, and families, Rev. Jeri further engages and seeks to train faith leaders and the Black Church in transforming “prison ministries” to do the restorative justice work of soul care with justice-impacted individuals and families, emphasizing returning citizens to significantly impact their lives and reduce the rate of recidivism.

In May 2014, Rev. Jeri co-founded, with her eldest Goddaughter Nakia J. Green, and began an early morning prayer call that continues to gather weekly. At the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, she developed the infrastructure and protocol for, and became the executive producer of the virtual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (SDPC) International Daily Service of Prayer and Song, engaging all in need of a “prayerdemic for the COVID-19 pandemic,” which was streamed live across all social media platforms for 18 months. Additionally, Rev. Jeri planned, orchestrated, and produced the annual Proctor Conference in the virtual setting. She was also challenged to create, plan, orchestrate, and produce the new HBCU-Style Proctor Conference for Generation Z and millennials. 

Jeri also took Dr. Quincy James Rhinehart’s creation and foundation of the Murray-Rustin Social Justice Institute (MRSJI) of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and spearheaded innovative and historical firsts. In June 2020, SDPC launched the inaugural Proctor PRIDE Prayerdemic, primed by the request of Rev. Dr. Michael Elam for a week of PRIDE prayer warriors, psalmists, and musicians. Out of this significant move came the commitment of a team of LGBTQIA+ members dedicated to the work of MRSJI.

Dr. Jeri L. Wright is founder and CEO of wRighting Memories Ō A Publishing Company, encouraging potential authors to disallow others’ interpretations by telling their own stories. wRighting Memories encompasses writing, editing, producing, and publishing all genres of works including obituaries, audio/visual products, video tributes, magazines, greeting cards, and books, including Jeri’s own Preacher’s Daughter: A Journey Through the Pit … In the Presence of God. 

Dr. Jeri founded the Chicago Chapter of the National Action Network. She is the recipient of a Trumpet Award, presented by Xernona Clayton, for Religious Commitment and her work as editor-in-chief and publisher of the Trumpet Newsmagazine: A lifestyle magazine for the socially conscious. 

Additionally, Jeri received the Payne Research Scholarship, awarded for the best overall thesis, exceeding the target number of primary and secondary resources for each perspective, “The Cost of Black Liberation Theology: An African-Centered Lens,” and Master of Divinity at Payne Theological Seminary in 2020. 

An April 2023 inductee into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College, in June 2023, Rev. Jeri was blessed with a surprise honor by Rev. Dr. Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook and Women On the Worldstage (WOW), with the Unsung She-roe Award. 

In May 2025, Jeri earned her Doctor of Ministry degree in Human Centered Design with a focus on Soul Care for the Justice-Impacted, a training tool for faith leaders at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Her doctoral project, We Don’t Need Another Sermon! Transforming the Black Church Prison Ministry into Restorative Human-Centered Justice Ministry reflects her commitment to walking with the justice-impacted individuals and communities, as Jesus did.

Rev. Dr. Jeri L. Wright is a member of the Board of Directors for Culture Solutions In Action, and also a member of the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Enrichment Cafe. She is the proud mother of Jeremiah A. “JA” Wright-Haynes.