Biography
Lawyer and nonprofit executive Maurita Coley was born on June 18, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. Coley graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1973 and went on to receive her B.A. in communications arts and sciences from Michigan State University in 1977. In 1981, Coley received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
In 1981, Coley joined Clark Klein & Beaumont as an associate attorney in Detroit, Michigan. Two years later, she moved to Cole Raywid and Braverman, where she served as an attorney and partner. In 1993, Coley joined BET Networks as senior vice president of legal affairs; and, in 1995, she became senior vice president of network operations and programming. In 1999, Coley returned to Cole Raywid and Braverman, which became Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in 2007. She later served as principal of Coley Law and Media, PLLC, in 2009, where she worked for three years. In 2010, Coley joined Capital Area Asset Builders as its executive director. Two years later, Coley served as executive vice president, chief operating officer, and acting chief executive officer of Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. In 2018, she was promoted to president and chief executive officer.
Coley served as co-committee chair for Georgetown Law Center’s Black Alumni Endowment at the first Georgetown Black Law Alumni Reunion. She also served as co-agent for Davis Wright Tremaine law firm in the Georgetown Law Firm Challenge. In 2014, Coley was on the Strategic Planning Council of Alumni Leaders of Georgetown University Law Center. She is an executive committee member of Daniel Alexander Payne Community Development Corporation (DAPCDC), and is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the State of Michigan Bar, and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
Coley has received multiple awards for her work including the 2005 Distinguished Alumnae Award from Georgetown University Law Center’s Women’s Law Forum, being named a CableFax Top Lawyer in 2017, and receiving the 2018 President’s Award for Community Service from Black Data Professionals Association.
Coley and her husband, Paul Flippin, reside in Washington, D.C.
Maurita Coley was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 20, 2019.