Zakiya Larry
Zakiya Larry is the Founder of Quest Media Training, a strategic communications firm. She also leads trainings and campaigns to create relevant messaging and committed action in response to crises, social unrest and racial division.
She launched S.U.R.E.- Social Unrest Response Education to guide and support leaders in authentically responding to a shifting social landscape, where both the 'right words' and strategic action meet, without creating a PR nightmare.
In addition to creating and driving strategic communications plans for organizations, she and her team teach entrepreneurs as well as executives and their teams how to find ‘Your Core,’ how to Master The Media, and how to elevate your business above a crisis.
Zakiya has managed publicity for many blockbuster hits and New York Times bestsellers. She has also coordinated production for Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Oz and other notables.
Her past clients and strategy execution experience span global brands and industries including: McDonald's, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., 72andSunny, T.D. Jakes Ministries, Sony Pictures and many others. Her clients are based domestically and internationally from Amsterdam, Sydney, and New York, to LA, DC, Dallas, and in between.
ZAKIYA HAS WORKED WITH SOME INCREDIBLE BRANDS
Dear to her heart are her experiences intersecting purpose with her profession..
including sitting on the leadership team of The Council for Inclusion in Financial Services, serving on the board of That Girl is S.M.A.R.T., serving as the state director for communications and public affairs for March of Dimes, producing visual storytelling for the Texas Offenders Re-entry Initiative, advising Reach Memphis and leading PR initiatives with The Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Girl Scouts, American Heart Association and speaking and mentoring with hundred of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities,) translating into several thousands of students.
Returning as keynote and media coach several years in a row, Zakiya is teaching personal branding for HBCU student leadership, representing every HBCU in the country, at the annual Kings & Queens Leadership Conference
After serving as the official Emcee of the launch and screening of the NAACP Image Award nominee Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, Zakiya takes a moment backstage with the film's lead actor, Blair Underwood, and its award-winning writer and director, Deborah Riley Draper
Though Zakiya has worked with Oprah and her team on multiple PR occasions, she took a break to attend the Oprah's Life You Want Tour and snap a pic with the media mogul
At the intersection of my purpose and passion — is serving people. Whether I'm leading global corporate teams to become market stand-outs, or shaping leaders and brands for press success, I remember that people are at the core. This approach not only resonates deeply with who I am, but creates an exceptional outcome.
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Fun fact: Zakiya found a love for pageants and garnered 13 titles in 10 years, including Miss Central Texas USA and Miss Black Texas USA.
Her work has won more than a dozen national and international awards including two International Hermes Creative Awards, two National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Salute to Excellence Awards and was also recognized as a 2023 Power 50 Under 40 by the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., 40 Under 40 (i10 Media,) 2016 Who’s Who in Black Dallas, and 2023 Who’s Who In America.
She is a proud HBCU honors graduate from Texas Southern University and is a member of the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit Steering Committee, Public Relations Society of America, National Association of Black Journalists, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
She is married to Dr. Brandon L. Wolfe, the Chief Diversity Officer at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.