Shelly Ridgeway brings over 25 years of experience in aligning communications and marketing strategies with business goals across a wide range of industries. Her career began at WCVB-TV in Boston, where she worked in production and promotion for local programming. She later applied her expertise in marketing, event planning and media strategy to the live events and exhibition space, where she successfully led campaigns and managed media partnerships.

Shelly has held key communication roles in sectors including IT consulting with Gartner Group, healthcare and higher education—most recently serving at Howard University. She has driven successful community engagement and fundraising initiatives at organizations like United Way in Charlotte, NC.

A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Shelly holds a degree in political science from West Virginia University and earned a Mini-MBA in Digital Marketing from Rutgers University. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.