Richelle D. Payne

About Richelle D. Payne

Richelle D. Payne advises leaders at defining moments in business and public life, helping them turn vision into narrative and narrative into influence.An award-winning reputation strategist with nearly four decades of experience, Richelle is known for distilling complex challenges into clear strategic insight. Her work sits at the intersection of communications, culture, and economic impact, guiding CEOs and founders to align vision, voice, and visibility when clarity and credibility matter most.Today, Richelle is chief communications and marketing officer at Hampton University, where she sits on the President’s senior cabinet and leads the strategy and teams to elevate Hampton’s global visibility and deepen its reputation as one of the world’s great universities during a period of historic research expansion, institutional growth, and leadership transition. She oversees integrated communications and marketing efforts that amplify the university’s thought leadership, research impact, and distinctive student experience while strengthening alumni engagement, philanthropic support, and institutional goodwill.Over the course of her career, Richelle has worked with founders, CEOs, and senior executives to shape what stakeholders know, think, and feel—and how industries, communities, and markets respond.Previously, she founded and scaled a public relations consulting firm and then partnered with a global CEO branding firm, where she helped establish new practice areas and expand the agency’s U.S. operations across four states and global teams in the Netherlands, Canada, the UAE, and Cairo. During her tenure, the firm grew to seven-plus figures, an achievement reached by only 1.7% of Black-owned agencies.An HBCU graduate and entrepreneur, Richelle brings a distinctive perspective on the opportunities and systemic barriers Black founders navigate while building and scaling enterprises, and the forces shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs.Richelle has spoken on stages around the world, from the International Pastors and Leaders Conference and Philadelphia’s premiere Women’s Business Empowerment series to the Festival of the Diaspora in Brasil. Her work has earned numerous industry honors, including Ragan Communications’ 2024 Outstanding Service to the Industry Award, recognition as a Philadelphia Titan 100, and PR News’ Top Woman in PR award.She is President Emeritus of the National Black Public Relations Society, Inc, an advisor to the Public Relations Society of America, and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Experience

1. Vice President for Strategic Communications & Marketing

   Hampton University

   Mar 2023 — Present · Hampton Roads, VA, US

   Requested to return to her alma mater to build the communications architecture, lead the teams and drive the plans to raise the institution’s global visibility and deepen its reputation as one of the world’s great universities. Richelle sits on the President’s senior cabinet, charged with telling the stories of the people and programs at Hampton, from its interdisciplinary approach to solving some of the greatest challenges facing our communities, our nation, and the planet to outstanding thought leaders and researchers and our one-of-a-kind student experience. Her work weaves warmth, grows goodwill, sparks philanthropic support, and deepens alumni bonds. Her extensive experience in building brands worth rallying behind spans nearly four decades, reflecting her strategic vision for navigating diverse and dynamic environments and her deep understanding of the intricacies involved in shaping, protecting, and maintaining the public perception of individuals, organizations, and institutions.

Education

• Gateway Senior High School

  High School Diploma, College/University Preparatory and Advanced High School/Secondary Diploma Program

• Hampton University

  B.A., English Arts

  1985 — 1989

• Duquesne University

  Master of Arts (M.A.), Business/Corporate Communications

  1989 — 1991