Wrisë D. Booker

In Memoriam

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It with great sadness that we share the news that longtime EBF friend and cable industry leader, known as the “Mentor to Leaders” and President of Reid Dugger Consulting, Wrisë D. Booker, passed away on March 31st, 2020.

Booker had an accomplished career, from serving as the first Director of Organizational Development at the Times Mirror Cable Television to simultaneously managing and expanding industry trade organizations, including NAMIC (National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications), and the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (C2HR). Beyond this, she influenced and shaped many individuals and industry mentoring initiatives with her passion for accelerating leadership capacity and cultivating a future generation of top talent.

Wrisë Booker was an essential member of the Emma Bowen Foundation’s leadership development team for more than eleven years. She designed and then facilitated the Foundation’s Link Mentoring program from 2003 to 2014. The program united Foundation fellows with seasoned industry managers to provide insights on corporate life and professional development. Key elements of the Link program included a DISC personal profile for each participant, a case simulation that introduced concepts such as institutionalizing diversity, defining star qualities, utilizing differences, developing mentoring relationships, exercising initiatives and overcoming resistance to change. Mentees, with the help of their mentors, were then encouraged to develop a personal plan. The Fabulous Forum, which offered candid discussions about work life and networking, balanced out the program. More than 500 Foundation Fellows and 150 mentors participated in the program.

Most recently, Ms. Booker attended the inaugural Emma Bowen Alumni Reunion weekend in October 2019 and reconnected with alumni from the classes of 1997 to 2019. Her impact and connections were so profound that she was offering free group mentorship to the EBF Alumni Association up until her untimely passing.

The EBF community is forever grateful to her. We will remember Booker’s impact and cherish her legacy.

To have an audio experience of the history of Wrisë D. Booker, click here.