The CEO of A Wonder Media Company, parent of American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), on Monday received the President’s Award for her role in amplifying Black voices in media at the National Action Network’s (NAN) 2025 Triumph Awards.
The event was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall and saw Chesley Maddox-Dorsey accept the honor from The Rev. Al Sharpton, host of the Triumph Awards.
“This humbling recognition is not just about me but the legacy of our visionary founders—Sid Small, Eugene Jackson, Roy Wood Sr.—who dared to compete with well-funded radio networks that consistently underserved the Black community while assuming they owned our loyalty,” said Maddox-Dorsey. “Our company’s bold founders believed that the story of Black people fighting for justice and equity was at least as compelling as a concert in Woodstock, NY, and that Black people deserved to be represented in the media free from contrived, prejudiced views that presumed we were guilty or one step away from guilt.”
Maddox-Dorsey has led A Wonder Media Company since 2018, overseeing its growth into a multi-platform media organization. In prior years, she was a pioneering African American owner of radio stations in markets such as Shreveport, La., under the company name Access1.
Maddox-Dorsey was honored alongside Soohyung Kim, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of hedge fund Standard General, which is a backer of MediaCo Holding Inc..
Other honorees include acclaimed songwriter, singer and producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds; Ari Melber, MSNBC chief legal correspondent and host of “The Beat”; Overseer Vincent Bohanan, founder and director of the Sound of Victory and Victorious Army Choirs; and longtime singer, songwriter and Broadway actor Stephanie Mills.
The Triumph Awards celebrate individuals across music, media, faith and beyond whose leadership advances the cause of justice. “The evening reinforces NAN’s mission to build on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through advocacy, cultural impact and public service,” NAN says.
