Mrs. Nyala Wright Nolen's Obituary
Obituary Nyala
Obituary
Nyala Wright Nolen was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 10, 1976, to parents Booker T. Wright, Jr., MD, and Madeleine E. Pate Wright, PhD. She was raised in Houston, Texas, where she was baptized at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in 1985 by founding pastor, Rev. William A. Lawson. She attended Lovett Elementary School, Johnston Middle School, and Bellaire High School. In high school, she founded the Black Student Alliance and was a member of the Belles Drill Team. In May 1999, Nyala graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
After graduating from college, Nyala worked in the Education Department of Jazz at Lincoln Center. There, she spent four years producing the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. She worked with Executive Director and trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis, to further the legacy of jazz music for students around the nation.
Nyala was then promoted to Manager of Public Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In that role, she created events such as lecture series, Jazz Talk, and WeBop, a jazz education program for preschoolers. She also collaborated with the Whitney Museum on an exhibition about jazz and the Romare Bearden Foundation on selecting artwork for the Education wing of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
After her success in New York, Nyala returned to Houston to work at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft as Director of Fundraising. She managed several successful campaigns and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars by producing events such as the Center’s first Family Day and a fundraising luncheon. During the same time, she collaborated with Grammy Award-winning pianist, Robert Glasper, to present a series of concerts. This included a show at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston’s renown fundraiser, Champagne and Ribs.
The City of Houston then hired Nyala to manage their Business Volunteers for the Arts program. In this role, she successfully ran the program with 30 volunteers dedicated to helping nonprofit arts organizations improve their business practices and efficiency. She also created one of the city’s most profitable fundraisers, The Power to Give. The event launched an online fundraising platform for donations to the arts and took place at Beyoncé’s House of Dereon.
Nyala then became an independent arts administrator to offer her expertise on event planning, marketing, fundraising, and publicity to more organizations. In this capacity, she worked with The Houston Fine Art Fair, Adidas, Air Jordan, The Santa Fe Soul Festival, Firstline Brands, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Most recently, she served as the valued and trusted personal assistant to jazz legend, educator, and drummer, Lewis Nash.
On September 17, 2013, Nyala married Brian Nolen. They welcomed two beautiful daughters, Madeleine Coco Nolen and Sucre Lee Nolen in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Nyala’s hobbies included reading, skiing, swimming, and traveling. Known by the nickname, “Bossy Woman,” she is best remembered for her charming personality and her creative organizational abilities.
On January 1, 2026, Nyala passed away in Mesa, Arizona. Left to cherish Nyala’s memory are her parents, Booker T. Wright, MD, and Madeleine E. Pate Wright, PhD; husband, Brian Nolen; daughters, Madeleine Coco Nolen and Sucre Lee Nolen; brother, Kijana K. Wright (Tracy); nephew, Kaden Wright; niece, Zoe Wright; aunts, Aminata Ojore and Rose Cutler (George); uncles, Julian E. Pate III (Julia) and Micheal Gregory Wright; cousins, Khalfani Wright, Menelik Wright, Myke Wright, Ben-Ra, Krysta Pate, Ikechi Ojore, Gwendolyn L. Pate Meyers, Ishmael Meyers Jr. (Micol), Micheline Meyers, and Michael Meyers (Zahira), Caryl Williams, and Renee Bennett Pratt; special relatives, Christine Paradise Callier, Congressman Henry Calvin “Hank” Johnson Jr. (Mereda); and a host of special friends and extended family.
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