Cheri Wright

Director, Student Success Initiatives - Florida

Cheri Wright is a Director of Student Success Initiatives in Florida, where she plays a key role in contributing to the strategic goals and objectives aligned with the Foundation's work. In this position, Ms. Wright is responsible for the development and implementation of initiatives aimed at addressing challenges faced by low-income and historically underrepresented communities in Florida.

Prior to joining Helios, Ms. Wright served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at THI. She began working in philanthropy as regional vice president with the Allegany Franciscan Ministries Foundation. In this role she managed funding initiatives that support nonprofits, emphasizing collaboration and mission-related investing with a focus on the social influencers of health to support healthy people and communities. Through this work Ms. Wright led community engagement, strategy, and executed plans to transform population health through a lens of innovation, racial, and health equity.  A hallmark of Ms. Wright's career was serving at the Pinellas Community Foundation as Senior Program Officer, CARES Nonprofit Partnership Fund to oversee the distribution and usage of $30M CARES Act Federal Funding for Pinellas County.  

Ms. Wright is committed to the Tampa Bay community. She volunteers her time by serving on the Board of Trustees for St. Anthony’s Hospital; BayCare Health System: Mission, Ethics, and Values Committee; Blue Ridge Leadership Institute; current Leadership Florida Education Class 10 Class Member; Greater Tampa Chapter of Jack and Jill of America; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; and many ministries at New Hope MB Church. She holds a Master of Science from Florida A&M University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and psychology from the University of South Florida.