SUSAN L. TAYLOR

Susan L. Taylor is editorial director of ESSENCE magazine. Taylor has been the driving force behind one of the most celebrated African American owned business success stories of the past three decades. She oversees the editorial operations of the magazine and writes the popular In the Spirit column each month.

A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Taylor was the founder of her own company, Nequai Cosmetics, before becoming ESSENCE’s fashion and beauty editor and, in 1981, its editor-in-chief. She is the author of three books: In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, Lessons in Living and Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives, the latter co-authored with her husband, Khephra Burns. In 1999 Taylor became the first African-American woman to receive The Henry Johnson Fisher Award from the Magazine Publishers of America, the magazine industry’s highest honor. In 2002, Taylor was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors’ (ASME) Hall of Fame, which celebrates the career-long records of excellence, creativity and impact of a select group of highly influential magazine journalists.