Chely Wright Leads Diversity at Unispace

web_adv1116_up-front_chely-wright_credit-brian-ach-getty-images.jpg

Among the first to come out in the country music industry. Wright is now leading the way in workplace diversity.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

Read Full Bio

Tracy E. Gilchrist

August 05 2021 9:02 AM EST

May 31 2023 4:41 PM EST

We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.

Pioneering country musician Chely Wright changed the landscape for those who followed when she came out as gay in 2010. A chart-topping singer in the often-insular country world, she had been a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry for more than a decade. But it would take another 10 years after her brave coming-out before she was asked back. Still, Wright is an activist and a fighter, and the love from LGBTQ+ folks who saw themselves in her story kept inspiring her to expand her horizons.

Now she's been named the first-ever chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for the workplace innovator Unispace. Having worked with Procter & Gamble and Morgan Stanley around diversity and inclusion, and with queer organizations like GLSEN, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Campaign, Wright is the perfect choice to oversee LGBTQ+ equality initiatives in the communal workplace.

"The world has changed. We must meet the moment and make Unispace a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive place for our people, for our clients, and for the communities in which we operate," Wright says about her new role.