Rita Coburn

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Rita Coburn is a Peabody and Emmy Award-Winning Director, Writer, and Producer with nearly four decades in radio, television and film. Beginning her career as a producer and writer for various news outlets across the U.S., Coburn went on to produce for the likes of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah Radio, Apollo Live! and Walt Disney Productions. In 2016, “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise,” which was co-directed and co-produced by Coburn, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Festival, and went on to win a Peabody Award in 2017. The documentary featured interviews conducted by Coburn Whack with world-renowned talent and public figures – President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones, and more.

Coburn’s value is such that she bridges the gap between generations and preserves African-American history. Through her work, she uniquely addresses topics from a multi-generational lens with a passion for impacting others through the untold stories of prominent figures and key ideals relevant to African-American culture.

Coburn (under the then name of Rita Coburn Whack) is also the author of “Meant to Be,” published by Random House/Strivers Row in 2001. The Rita Coburn Whack Papers collection, containing 40+ oral history interviews and audiovisual materials from public radio work and from documentaries created for public television, is currently housed at various institutions across the United States.

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testimonials

~ Marion Sanford, Director, University of Mary Washington

“I want to extend my heartfelt “thank you” for all you did in helping us host Ms. April Ryan as our 2018 MLK, Jr. keynote speaker. Ms. Ryan was absolutely amazing last night!! She was captivating, insightful, and delivered a powerful message with words of hope, love, and a call to action to the audience. They were utterly enthralled by her presence and presentation.

I would like to also add that I thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of meeting Ms. Ryan. She was so personable, pleasant, down-to-earth and very gracious and accommodating with the guests. She was patient with each question and stayed until every person had their book signed or picture taken. I would not hesitate to have her visit our campus again. I was so impressed and grateful for her contributions to our campus community in this role, but even more so for the work and accomplishments she is making in journalism, politics, and keeping integrity in the profession.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the wonderful and professional work of Ms. Kim Lowery in her role in ensuring a positive and successful program. She was thorough in providing the details of the travel itinerary and ensured that we had all the information necessary in preparation for Ms. Ryan’s visit. It was a pleasure working with her on this engagement.

Thank you again for the work you do and the rewarding collaborations we enjoy with your agency. I look forward to future interactions.”

~ A. Gordon, Corporate Executive

“Meeting you both today was a great experience for me and my career development! I learned so much and truly valued your expertise, insight and probing questions. You really got my wheels turning and focused solely on the success of building my brand. As I mentioned, this was a new experience for me and it was a great opportunity to be ultra successful in 2015! As I recap my notes, I just wanted to send you a note of sincere thanks.”

Author & Advocate

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