Chesley Maddox-Dorsey Gives Tips: Women's History Month

Supply: Monica Schipper / Getty

Congratulations are to ensure that the esteemed radio business veteran, Chesley Maddox-Dorsey. In January, the CEO of A Surprise Media Firm was named certainly one of the U.S. Black Chambers Energy 50 Girls of Affect for 2025. The celebrated recognition honors influential Black girls who’ve made important contributions throughout numerous fields, with a particular concentrate on enterprise, innovation, entrepreneurship, and management. Now, she’s sharing her suggestions for fulfillment in honor of Girls’s Historical past Month.

Maddox-Dorsey’s exceptional achievements have earned her a spot on the listing, largely as a consequence of her impactful management at A Surprise Media Firm, which boasts over 8,000 radio associates by its two key divisions: American City Radio Networks (AURN) and Superadio. Since buying AURN and Superadio in 2018, Maddox-Dorsey has grown the corporate right into a powerhouse in Black radio, syndicating a few of the hottest reveals within the business together with Ebro within the Morning, Yung Joc & The Streetz Morning Takeover, Alice Cooper’s Alice’s Attic, Nessa On Air, Viewpoints Radio, and Cafe Mocha Radio, together with inspirational applications like The Marvin Sapp Radio Present, The Come Up with Tye Tribbett, and The Hezekiah Walker Gospel Countdown.

With over 40 million weekly listeners, the radio powerhouse’s management continues to form the way forward for Black radio.

Authenticity and a powerful workforce will take you far, in keeping with Maddox-Dorsey.

Alliance for Women in Media presents the Gracies Leadership Awards

Supply: Monica Schipper / Getty

A graduate of Oberlin Faculty, Maddox-Dorsey’s radio profession started unexpectedly—by banking. Her experience in finance performed a vital function within the profitable acquisition of KJOI-FM in Los Angeles within the ‘80s. Alongside the way in which, she additionally turned obsessed with empowering aspiring Black and feminine broadcasters. Inspired by her mentor, John E. Oxendine, Maddox-Dorsey took a big step in her profession, changing into a shareholder in Blackstar Communications. The partnership led to the acquisition of tv stations alongside House Purchasing Community and, later, Fox Broadcasting.

Maddox-Dorsey’s work in banking allowed her to help media corporations, together with a number of minority-owned broadcasters, securing financing that helped them thrive. Nonetheless, her transition into media herself got here when Sydney Small recruited her in 2000 to steer Unity Broadcasting Firm’s transformation. The massive alternative in the end led her to grow to be President and CEO of Access1, an organization that owned 23 radio and tv stations, Superadio, and a minority stake in AURN. Pushed by a imaginative and prescient to create one thing uniquely her personal, Maddox-Dorsey went on to determine A Surprise Media Firm, solidifying her legacy as a trailblazer within the broadcasting business.

Providing recommendation and perception to girls striving for greatness, Maddox-Dorsey burdened the significance of taking dangers and remaining steadfast in a single’s imaginative and prescient.

“The prospect to steer a buyout of two well-known however uncared for B2B manufacturers was irresistible. I beloved the potential of infusing new concepts and expertise into AURN, which had grow to be a shadow of its former self. I knew that between Superadio, a top-ranked syndicator, and the distribution community of AURN, we had a base to construct upon,” the printed large mentioned, in keeping with a press launch. “You need to be the producer of your profession and life, and to do this, you need to be sure your values and objectives are authentically aligned.”

For ladies in senior administration, climbing the ladder to success, Maddox-Dorsey mentioned you need to “be a collector of expertise as you construct your workforce and village.” The radio maven added, “You might be liable for the end result of people that give you the results you want, so be critical and intentional.”

The U.S. Black Chambers will rejoice all of its Energy 50 Girls of Affect honorees on March 27.