Sara Lomax-Reese

President and CEO, WURD Radio

Twitter: @slomaxreese
Sara Lomax-Reese is the President and CEO of WURD Radio, LLC, Pennsylvania’s only African-American owned talk radio station. She is credited with transforming WURD Radio from a legacy talk radio station to a multimedia communications company providing cutting edge, original programming on air, online and through community events. In 2017, Sara led the expansion of 900AM-WURD to the FM dial, now simulcasting on both 900AM and 96.1FM. In 2018, Sara spearheaded the launch of an environmental justice journalism platform called ecoWURD.com. And this year she is launching a new initiative called Lively-HOOD focused on jobs, career readiness and entrepreneurship to address the persistent wealth gap in the Black community. Prior to her work with WURD Radio, in 1992 Sara co-founded HealthQuest: Total Wellness for Body, Mind & Spirit, a trailblazing African-American consumer health magazine that grew from a quarterly publication to a bi-monthly with a national circulation of over 500,000.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Sara has written for The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Essence Magazine, American Visions Magazine and Modern Maturity. In 2016, Sara contributed to a book of essays, “Our Black Sons Matter,” written by Black mothers of sons. And in 2018 Sara presented before the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy, writing an article about the topic.

Most recently she was featured on multiple BBC news programs, offering commentary about the protests throughout the country and the world. Sara also served as an adjunct professor of communications at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. She has taught a collaborative course at the University of Pennsylvania with Dr. John Jackson titled “Urban Ethnography” which taught students how to create audio documentaries that aired on WURD Radio. Sara completed the Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership program: The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports in 2018. In 2019 Sara completed the Media Transformation Challenge (formerly the Sulzberger Program) at Harvard Kennedy School.

Sara has received numerous awards including: the Beacon of Light Award from the Congressional Black Caucus for HealthQuest Magazine’s outstanding health coverage. She received the Woman of Substance Award from the National Medical Association; was recognized as one of the “100 People to Watch” by Business Philadelphia Magazine; and selected for the “Women of Distinction” award given by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Additionally, Sara has received the PECO “Power to the Community” award given by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women of Pennsylvania; the Moving Mountains Award from the Leon Sullivan Charitable Trust; the RAD Award for Activist of the Year; and the 2017 Trailblazer Award from the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. In 2018, Sara was also named one of the “100 Most Influential Philadelphians” by Philadelphia Magazine.

Sara sits on Arcadia University’s Board of Trustees and Drexel University’s College of Medicine Advisory Council. Additionally, Sara participated on the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadcast Diversity and Development Working Group of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment. An avid yoga and meditation practitioner, Sara is also co-founder of Philadelphia’s People of Color meditation group. She is the proud mother of three sons, Langston, Elijah and Julian.