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Yolanda Sangweni Biography
Yolanda Sangweni,44, is an African woman making global moves in the United States. She has been described by her former colleagues and partners as a brilliant content strategist, a diligent team player, and a leader. Throughout her career, Sangweni has perfected the craft of convincing her employers and clients of her ability to deliver. She is currently the vice president of Programming and New Content Development at NPR.
Yolanda Sangweni Age and Husband
She comes from Zambia in the southern part of Africa. Her date of birth is 27th January 1978. She moved to the United States for education and work purposes. Outside work, Sangweni is a mother to three children and a wife. She got married on 20th November 2003. In 2023, they will be celebrating 20 years of marriage. She is also a devoted African, spreading the African vibe across the world.
Education and Career
Her passion for succeeding started back in Africa where she studied English Language and literature at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. After graduating, she went for further studies at New York University.
Her journey in creating content started in 2003 in Johannesburg where she was a feature writer for Femina magazine. Her role was writing stories on culture, health, and parenting. She worked there for 1 year and later joined Trace Magazine as a Features Editor. She led a team of editors and freelancers in creating stories. Yolanda covered popular acts such as Rihanna and Erykah Badu.
All this time, she was working as a freelance writer for several publications. She was of great value to The Oprah Magazine, True Love, Glamour, Marie Clair, Arise, and Time Out New York.
Her Rise
Her greatest opportunity came when she joined Time Inc as an entertainment editor tasked with creating, assigning, and implementing content in the celebrity and lifestyle section. After 5 years, she joined Essence Communication as a Deputy editor. She led the editing team from story creation to publication.
She was part of the team that relaunched the website, co-created and co-hosted the Podcast Yes Girl, and created the new audio audience for Essence. Her contribution to the publication earned her a Webby Award Nomination. As a co-host for Yes Girl Podcast, Yolanda invited and interviewed celebrities and public figures on matters concerning culture, race, and spirituality. She also headed red-carpet events such as Essence Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music.
In 2019, she worked in Luminary for 1 year as a director of Programming and Editorial. Yoland duties were enhancing podcast discovery by merchandizing podcasts in-app, editing themes, building content calendar, and creating podcast awareness campaigns.
She joined NPR in 2020, as a senior director of programming and was responsible for launching The Limits with Jay Wiliams, Throughline and the relaunching of It’s Been a Minute. She assisted NPR in expanding its services to Hispanic audiences and engaging with Latin content creators.
In June 2022, NPR announced Yolanda as the new Vice President for Programming and Audience Development. Her roles will be leading and creating culture-centered programs and podcasts. She also leads the content creation process to ensure the programs support NPR’s mission.
Yolanda Sangweni Net Worth
Sangweni has tightly held her position as an influential content creator. She is among those introducing the wave of Africa. While doing this, she has been increasing her influence and wealth status. The global icon could have accumulated a net worth of approximately $20 million in her 20 years of service in the media industry. You can see on Linkedin for more details.
