At a young age, Makeba L. Wright witnessed a drug bust in her neighborhood and became fascinated with how law enforcement operated. She began her career as a patrol officer with the Dougherty County Police Department in 2004, rising to become a lieutenant in the drug unit by 2007. Subsequently, she joined the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport as a safety officer from 2007 to 2010 before serving for more than a decade as an investigator with the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office from 2010 to 2022. During this time, Ms. Wright completed a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Albany State University in 2008, which was followed by a Master of Science in forensic psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2012.
In addition to her many years of public service, Ms. Wright joined BMW of Albany as a client adviser in 2020, also becoming the finance manager in 2021. Primarily selling BMW and Mercedes vehicles, she has found a great sense of gratification as part of a team that helps clients find the best vehicle for them and be satisfied with their experience. It is essential to her that her clients can trust her and walk away from the sale knowing that they were treated with honesty and integrity. Furthermore, Ms. Wright has been a licensed massage therapist since 1998 and is a nationally certified firefighter as well.
A dedicated community advocate for her entire career, Ms. Wright has been involved in a wide range of civic groups, such as the CTAE Dream Team, Girls Inc., and Queens R Us, where she previously served as vice president. Most notably, however, is Albany Twin Storm Relief Inc., which she established in 2017 after meeting a family whose trailer home had been utterly destroyed following two tornados sweeping through the area and leaving them with nothing. Her early work with her nonprofit was directed toward helping people impacted by the tornados, but it has since grown to encompass other causes as well. Through Albany Twin Storm Relief, she provides home insurance, helps to pay utility bills for those on a fixed income, and more.
One of Ms. Wright’s most notable achievements with her nonprofit was able to raise more than $23,000 for the family of a child who was shot and killed in his bed at home. She notes that her nonprofit has gone from helping people through physical storms to whatever metaphorical storm may be impacting their lives. Furthermore, she is incredibly grateful to the people from her church, who have been unwaveringly supportive and willing to donate time and money to help her with her various community endeavors. Looking toward the future, Ms. Wright plans to run for mayor of Albany, Georgia, because the community has asked her to. She feels incredibly honored that the community has such faith in her ability to make a difference as mayor.
Ms. Wright attributes much of her success to her mother, Virginia Wright, who always encouraged her to chase her dreams. Over the course of her career, she has stood out for her willingness to learn and improve, which has led to her growing by leaps and bounds. Even now, she recognizes that there is still much to learn in her relatively new role with BMW of Albany. For her excellence, she has been the recipient of a number of honors and accolades, including being named 40 Under 40 by the city of Albany in 2016. More recently, Ms. Wright was named Citizen of the Year by the Albany Police Department in 2020, and Amazing Woman of the Year by the Albany Herald in both 2021 and 2022.