Michele Wise Wright, Ph.D., a 2024 University of Tennessee Distinguished Alumna and 2026 Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact Honoree, made history as UTSI’s first GEM Fellow, founded its first NSBE chapter, and became its first full-time African American student to earn a master’s in Engineering Management/Industrial Engineering. Now COO of Turbare Manufacturing and a UT Knoxville Black Alumni Council member, she is a nationally recognized health-equity advocate, filmmaker, author, 2024 NSBE Golden Torch Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award recipient, and 2022 USA TODAY Woman of the Year for Arkansas.