Chely Wright’s Ongoing Legacy Of Leadership, 25 Years After ‘Single White Female’ [Interview]

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Chely Wright

15 years ago, Chely Wright made history as the first mainstream country artist to come out publicly as gay—a moment that rippled through Nashville and beyond. Her brave step onto the national stage, which included appearances on Oprah and Ellen, coverage in The New York Times and People, and a memoir-documentary double release, changed the conversation around LGBTQIA+ visibility in country music. Today, Wright’s work continues to shape that conversation—from a very different kind of stage.

Now serving as Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and New Market Growth at ISS, a global workplace experience and facilities management company with more than 320,000 employees worldwide, Wright is bringing her lifelong advocacy into the boardroom. Her new role was officially announced this March, just as her career-defining hit “Single White Female” celebrates its 25th anniversary.

It’s a milestone worth marking—and not just for the music.

“I’ve always said I was the CEO of my own little company,” Wright tells MusicRow. “When you’re a touring artist, you’re not just showing up and singing songs. You’re running a team—your band, crew, publicist, merch, managers. You’re budgeting. You’re building community. You’re solving problems. All of that prepared me for what I’m doing now.”

Wright’s transition from the tour bus to corporate leadership wasn’t exactly planned—but it wasn’t accidental either. She began taking on corporate speaking engagements after coming out in 2010, sharing her story and helping organizations create more inclusive cultures. That “side hustle,” as she once called it, eventually grew into something more. During the pandemic, when touring paused, she found herself leaning in.

“In 2020, I said to my wife, ‘I think I’m about to make a pivot,’” Wright recalls. “COVID made me realize I had the opportunity to write a new chapter—and that didn’t scare me. I had already done something far scarier: I came out in an industry that had never seen it before.”

What followed was a full-time shift into CSR, a space where Wright could marry her lived experience with leadership. Her work at ISS now includes initiatives like increasing language access through ESL programming, partnering with veteran-owned small businesses, and championing diversity, equity, inclusion—and belonging—as good for business.

“It’s easier to say you’re against ‘DEI’ than it is to say you’re against ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’” she says. “But when you say those three words out loud—and understand what they really mean—that’s when change can start.”

At ISS, those values are embedded into the company’s global mission to connect people and places to make the world work better. For Wright, the final piece of that equation is belonging—a word that hits especially close to home.

“When I came out, I thought I was risking everything I’d built,” she says. “But it ended up being the thing that gave me an entirely new sense of purpose. That sense of wholeness—of being seen—that’s what belonging is. And that’s what I want to create for other people.”

Wright’s corporate philosophy is deeply rooted in her personal journey—and in the understanding that real impact happens when top-down strategy and grassroots action are aligned. “My years of experience across several industries have taught me invaluable lessons about the power of community, the value of intention, and the importance of aligning top-down strategy with grassroots champions, internally and with clients too,” she shares. “Great things happen when there’s unity at every level.”

While she’s no longer walking the streets of Music Row daily, Wright remains connected to Nashville and the creative community, reflecting on her time in the spotlight with gratitude.

“I got lucky,” she says. “Every step of my career—music, advocacy, business—it all led me here.”

In a world where reinvention can feel daunting, Wright has a message for those considering a new path: “Everybody has at least one great career pivot in them. You just have to listen hard, plan well and be brave enough to believe there’s more than one version of your best life.”

And if anyone knows how to climb that next mountain, it’s her.

LB Cantrell
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