Valeria Lynch Lee (born 1942 in Halifax County, North Carolina) is an African American philanthropist and an advocate for public media in North Carolina. Lee was a co-founder of one of the first black public radio stations in the nation and has served as program director, manager, and board member for numerous organizations aimed at improving educational and socio-economic conditions for North Carolinians. She was inducted into the North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame in 2009.

Early life

Valeria Lynch was born in 1942[1] near Hollister in Halifax County, North Carolina.[2] She grew up on the family farm[3] and then attended North Carolina Central University, earning a bachelor's degree in business education. Lynch went on to earn a master's in education at North Carolina State University.[4] After completing her schooling, Lynch married Jim Lee[5] and moved to Turkey for two years. The experience was a formative event for Lee and the first time she had not experienced overt racism.[3]

Career

In 1968, the couple returned to North Carolina[3] and Lee began her career as a school counselor and librarian.[2] This was a pivotal time in the Civil Rights Movement and Lee helped implement integration policies and Head Start Programs.[3] In 1973, Lee and her husband Jim, founded a non-profit corporation, Sound and Profit United, Inc. to apply for an FCC broadcasting license. When the license was granted, the couple worked with volunteers to create the format for a radio station. By 1976, public radio station WVSP (Voices serving people) was on the air as one of the few black public radio stations. The station broadcast blues, jazz, and Latino music, as well as interviews with national figures to Warren County from a water tower erected on the Lynch family’s farm.[5] The station became part of the activist media network in and around Raleigh during the Black Power movement[6] and broadcast for twelve years.[5] In 1980, Lee was appointed by Governor Jim Hunt as one of the four board trustees of the Center for Public Television at the University of North Carolina.[7] She also earned a second master's degree in media from Ohio University's[4] School of Radio and TV, after being selected to participate with two other women in a pilot program in 1980 which provided media management training to minorities.[8] Before the station went off the air, the Smithsonian Institution exhibited the history of WVSP 90.9FM in Washington, D.C.[5] That exhibit has become a traveling exhibition, which was still touring in 2010.[9]

Lee's next endeavor was as a program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation,[2] selecting projects for funding which either improved or provided benefits for communities in North Carolina or preserved the cultural heritage in the state.[10] She became a featured speaker at many events as well as a moderator for educational programs on issues of interest to the black community.[11][12] From 2000-2008, she served as the first President of the Golden Leaf Foundation,[13] as chair of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center and as a director of BB&T. In 2009, Lee became the CEO of Applied Behavioral Concepts for Families, a philanthropic organization which distributes the funds from the national tobacco settlement toward economic development projects in North Carolina. That same year, she was named a member of the Board of Directors of BB&T,[14] serving until her retirement in 2012.[1] She was elected to the North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame in 2009.[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 Lee, Valeria Lynch (4 July 2016). "Executive Profile: Valeria Lynch Lee". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lee to keynote Emancipation Association program". Winston-Salem Chronicle. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. December 29, 1988. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via Newspaperarchive.com. Open access icon
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Valeria Lee to Speak at NCCU's Legacy Lecture Series". Durham, North Carolina: North Carolina Central University. January 18, 2005. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 admin (1 December 2010). "Lee Elected to BB&T Corporate Board". Black Business Ink. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Sherman (2010). "WVSP 90.9FM 1973-1985" (PDF). Charlotte, North Carolina: North Carolina Humanities Council. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Davis, Joshua Clark (March 7, 2014). "Museum of Durham History: New project shines light on Triangle's activist media history". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Dorman, Angie (March 20, 1980). "UNC-TV's 'Festival '80' successful in funds drive". The Daily Tar Heel. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ↑ Jones, Bill, ed. (1980). "Trims and Glitches". The Independent Film & Video Monthly. New York, New York: Foundation for Independent Video and Film, Inc. 4 (1): 23. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Shaw, Emily (April 29, 2010). "Smithsonian exhibit comes to Warrenton". Henderson, North Carolina: Home in Henderson. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Bradshaw receives foundation grant to create exhibit on local black history". Winston-Salem Chronicle. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. June 5, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via Newspaperarchive.com. Open access icon
  11. ↑ "Cleon Thompson to address 'Black Issues'". Winston-Salem Chronicle. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. February 18, 1988. p. 26. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via Newspaperarchive.com. Open access icon
  12. ↑ "Black Issues Forum to explore issues of health care access". Winston-Salem Chronicle. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. September 14, 1989. p. 33. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via Newspaperarchive.com. Open access icon
  13. ↑ "Valeria Lee". Foundation For Health Leadership & Innovation. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  14. 1 2 Craver, Richard (December 16, 2010). "BB&T elects Valeria Lee to board of directors". Winston-Salem Journal. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  15. ↑ "Valeria Lynch Lee". Charlotte, North Carolina: NC Women's Conference. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
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