Chandra Wilson
We are pleased to announce Chandra Wilson as the Honored Speaker for Tisch Salute 2021!
Chandra Wilson is a proud graduate of Tisch Undergraduate Drama from the Class of 1991 where she studied all four years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She is best known for her 17 seasons as Dr. Miranda Bailey on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, personally receiving Awards from Screen Actors Guild, People’s Choice, Prism, NAACP Image, Women’s Image Network and four Emmy Award nominations for her work on the show as an actor and director. Besides having directed 21 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy thus far, she has also directed Scandal, The Fosters and Good Trouble. This Houston, Texas native at 5 years old began performing in musicals and plays locally with Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) and the Ensemble Theatre. She graduated from Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and acquired her BFA right here at NYU.
Other television appearances include Christmas Harmony for Lifetime Television, her Emmy-nominated role in Accidental Friendship for Hallmark Channel, and many guest-starring television roles. She can also be seen in the feature films Frankie and Alice, Lone Star, and Philadelphia. Broadway credits include Chicago: the Musical, Avenue Q, Caroline, or Change and On the Town, with many other Off Broadway, Regional and Local theatre credits.
Chandra has received honors from several charitable organizations for her philanthropic work and positive representation. Her interest in philanthropy and finance came after college graduation having worked in the financial aid office certifying student loans. She made her way through the New York City temp world while pounding the pavement as an actor by working in the investment banking industry and spending 8 years as a document processing operator and supervisor with Bankers Trust, which became Deutsche Bank. She currently manages the Sermoonjoy Organization of Funds which houses Fellowships, Scholarships and Philanthropic giving.