When Sheena Wright stepped into the role of president of the United Way of New York City (UWNYC) nearly five years ago, she was the first woman to hold the position in the organization’s 80-year history. She currently presides over a staff of 98 employees and oversees programming and revenues in excess of $57 million. But Wright is no stranger to trailblazing. “I learned early on, I’m almost always underestimated,” she says.

Raised in the South Bronx, Wright was one of a handful of African-American students at the boarding school she attended and entered Columbia University at the age of 16. Personal experience has informed Wright’s leadership as she’s sought to grow UWNYC by building on its existing strengths and assets. It’s also why she’s passionate about the work.

Wright admits she was fortunate as a child to be exposed to programming that offered her different educational opportunities beyond public school. Some of her peers were not so lucky, she says.

Wright says she’s had to be very clear about her strengths and capabilities, because there will always be people who see being a black woman from a poor neighborhood as a liability. “I have to be constantly aware [of my strengths], because there’s always going to be an assumption that they’re not there,” she explains, “and I’m going to have to demonstrate that.”

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