Wanda Lloyd is author of the upcoming memoir, "Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism Giant. 

She is a retired newspaper editor and a former associate professor/ former chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Savannah State University,  Savannah, GA.

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The book she is writing is a self-reflective exploration of the author’s life journey – from Savannah to editing roles at seven daily newspapers, to founding and leading university programs to teach journalism, living in eight states and back to Savannah making a difference in her childhood community.

Lloyd served 8.5 years as executive editor of the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, a Gannett newspaper. As executive editor she was responsible for all of the news content for the daily newspaper and several weekly newspapers, including the Maxwell-Gunter Dispatch, montgomeryadvertiser.com, the editorial page and the newsroom’s staff and resources.

Lloyd rejoined Gannett in 2004 after serving as the founding executive director of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, based on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. The Diversity Institute offered journalism training to people of color coming from careers outside of journalism and who were interested in a mid-career shift into journalism. In Nashville, she was also co-host of “Behind the Headlines,” a weekly radio news analysis show on WFSK-FM, the Fisk University station.
 
Lloyd, co-author/editor of  “The Edge of Change: Women in the 21st Century Press,”  published in October 2009 by University of Illinois Press, is currently writing her memoir.

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In previous Gannett experience, Lloyd was managing editor at The Greenville (S.C.) News. Before that, she was senior editor/days & administration at USA TODAY, where she served earlier as deputy managing editor/cover stories and managing editor/administration.  She has also worked as an editor at The Washington Post, the Providence Evening Bulletin, the Miami Herald and the Atlanta Journal.  Lloyd has been a four-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2007 she was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists’ Region III Hall of Fame.

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She directed the landmark study “Muted Voices: Frustration and Fear in the Newsroom,” a survey of black journalists and newsroom managers.  She writes articles and columns for magazines and trade publications on the issues of leadership, newsroom diversity and careers in journalism and she is a frequent speaker on journalism and leadership topics.

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She is a member of the Executive Council of AARP Georgia, and she recently launched a volunteer network for AARP in Savannah. She volunteers  with several other organizations, including the MLK Observance Day Association, Inc. 

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Lloyd has served on the journalism advisory boards at Alabama State, Savannah State, Auburn and Virginia Commonwealth universities.  She was a member of the board of directors of the Alabama Associated Press Media Editors and the Alabama Press Association.

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In 2014 Lloyd was elected to return as a member of the Accrediting Committee of the Accrediting Council on Education for Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), on which she previously served two three-year terms.

She is a former director of the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), where she chaired the organization's committees on Diversity, Human Resources and Nominations and she was co-editor of the “ASNE Bulletin” (later “The American Editor”).  She was a co-founder and chair of the National Association of Minority Media Executives (NAMME). 

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She also previously served as a member of the advisory board of the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. 

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She is a 2014 graduate of the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy at Louisiana State University's Manship School of Communications.

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In 2010 Lloyd was honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama for her work in the community and career achievements. Other honors include the Robert G. McGruder Award for Media Diversity; Ida B. Wells Award for Media Diversity; Career Achievement award from Columbia University; Distinguished Alumna of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and Washington, D.C., Spelman Alumna of the Year.

Lloyd is a graduate of Leadership Savannah, Leadership Montgomery and Leadership Greenville (S.C.).

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She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Spelman College in Atlanta. In 2016 Spelman  awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and she also holds an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Briarwood College in Southington, Conn. In 1987 she was a fellow at the Management Training Center of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Business Management.  She is a Diamond Life member of the Savannah Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority. She is also a member of the Savannah (GA) Chapter of The Links Incorporated. 

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BIOGRAPHY