For almost a decade, Carlee Wright MBA’26 has been telling Salem where to find its next great show, gallery opening or event. As the self-described “Instigator and Editor” of Press Play — Salem’s arts, entertainment, culture, and lifestyle brand — she's helped shape the city’s creative identity and champion all that the city has to offer. What she didn't have, until recently, was the business vocabulary to help arts and cultural institutions thrive. That's what brought her to Willamette University’s MBA for Professionals program.
“I believe each of us has the ability and a responsibility to make our community better,” Wright shares. “For me, that happens through supporting the arts, creating connections, and encouraging people to engage with Salem.”
That philosophy has built Press Play into a multi-platform media brand covering Salem’s arts and entertainment scene and encouraging visitors and locals alike to experience more of the city’s vibrant creative community.
“If Press Play helps someone attend a show, visit a gallery, support a nonprofit, or discover something in Salem they hadn't experienced before, then it's doing exactly what I hoped it would,” Wright says.
Wright is a well-rounded community champion. When not running Press Play, she serves as the Marketing Director of Salem’s historic Elsinore Theatre, offers courses in the Visual Communication program at Chemeketa Community College, and volunteers as Chair of Salem’s Cultural and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board.
Wright’s community leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2026, Wright was recognized by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce with its Distinguished Service Award at the 75th Annual First Citizen Awards Banquet.
“For more than two decades, Carlee Wright has played a central role in shaping Salem’s creative identity, building connections across the community through arts, culture, and storytelling,” the Salem Chamber wrote of Wright’s leadership. “Through both her professional work and extensive volunteer leadership, Carlee has helped make Salem a more vibrant, inclusive, and engaged place to live.”
Advocating for arts and culture
Wright joined Willamette’s MBA program to make the organizations she cares about more durable.
“Pursuing my MBA was about gaining the tools to make arts and cultural organizations more resilient and effective,” Wright says. “And to be able to bring stronger business practices to the work I care about most.”
Willamette MBA for Professionals’ core Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) course gave Wright space to reflect on and understand her role as a leader. She also found value in her marketing courses, which helped her hone a strong strategic framework for the work she was already doing.
“The program has expanded my overall business vocabulary, giving me greater confidence working across sectors and advocating for arts and cultural organizations,” she says. “I have appreciated being able to immediately put into practice what I am learning, and to use my work directly in the classroom.”
As Wright continues her important community-centered efforts, she’s applying lessons she learned from Willamette’s MBA for Professionals program to help make Salem both culturally rich and economically vibrant.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a well-respected MBA program right here in Salem,” she says. “The program fit well with my schedule, making it so I could continue working while pursuing my degree. I knew I wanted something where there was an in-person opportunity, where I could build relationships. Willamette checked all the boxes for me.”
Hero photo credit: Dee Ann Deaton of OnBrand Photography / Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.
