Donna Moore Wesby
Founder and CEO of DMW Communications, LLC
As owner and founder of DMW Communications, LLC., Donna Moore Wesby's nearly 40 years' diverse and vast array of experience makes her business a one-stop communications services shop when clients are in need of professional, comprehensive, and reliable consultation and services. Mrs. Wesby is known for her spirit of excellence and is not satisfied with mediocrity. It has been said by her clients and benefactors of her organizational skills that "everything Mrs. Wesby touches turns to gold." But to Mrs. Wesby, she gives all glory to God who has equipped her with wisdom, knowledge, an understanding and appreciation of the human spirit, and an uncanny ability to solve problems with a common-sense approach. Mrs. Wesby's success is also due to her tenacity and ability to treat every project personally, which comes from her intentional skill of listening to her clients. Mrs. Wesby has led and meticulously organized hundreds of events, to include the Central Savannah River Area's annual largest, free, outdoor Gospel festival and the Education Matters "Are You Ready To Be Grown" conference for youth and adults.
Mrs. Wesby's political consciousness was awakened early as a youth where she actively served in the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People (Silver Life Member) and in several leadership capacities in high school. She credits her early gift of organizational skills from God, her mother (Betty) who was a career secretary and extremely resourceful, and her aunt (Lee) who allowed her to work with her in an office setting during the summers. Mrs. Wesby graduated with honors in 1992 from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. The liberal arts educational experience she received there, which also included leading two of the college's largest African American organizations (AFRO and MAP), provided her with broad exposure to many topics and life situations.
Before she was even in her mid-20s, Mrs. Wesby established two businesses: a hand car wash business that she co-owned with her uncle and managed; and a communications business entitled Creative Communications. Her entrepreneurial fire remained lit as she later opened an all-occasion gift shop that operated over 10 years entitled The Greatest Gift, which won the 2006 Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year, becoming the first and still only African American business to win this award. Through that business's tenure, Mrs. Wesby would eventually hire and mentor almost 20 individuals.
For as long as she can remember, Mrs. Wesby has been passionate about education. Her educational credits include serving on the Aiken County Board of Education (2008-2012), serving as the founder and executive director of 501(c)3 Education Matters Nonprofit Corporation, since 2013, where she established the Education Matters Reading and Resource Center after school program, created the Education Matters radio and television broadcasts, and organized community educational workshops and seminars.
Mrs. Wesby was employed by Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) for 15 years where she served in several public relations and communications assignments for WSRC, including coordinator of the Mini Grants Program, and the internship and School-to-Work programs, where she employed hundreds of students for temporary and eventually full-time positions at the Savannah River Site. She also worked as executive assistant to two WSRC presidents from 1999-2003, becoming the first African American in the site’s 50-year history to work in the president’s office in a professional capacity. From 2008-2022, she served as a subcontractor at SRS where she managed the SRS Employee Association Store.
In 2009, Mrs. Wesby began her career in broadcasting with the creation of the Education Matters radio broadcast on Urban Gospel radio station WAAW 94.7 FM. Over the course of 15 years, Mrs. Wesby became a strong, trusted community voice from broadcasting via television and radio, hosting and producing commercials and broadcasts to also include Morning Inspirations, Midday Inspirations, and Live, Love, and Laugh with Don and Donna. While at WAAW, Ms. Wesby rose in the management chain starting as Sales Manager and eventually to Assistant General Manager, Station Manager, and then to General Manager/Program Director where she led the station and over 30 staff members until the station was sold in 2023. For a short period, Mrs. Wesby managed the musical pursuits of her son, Mykal Moore, during the release of his solo rap project "Divergent."
Mrs. Wesby has served on numerous boards and advisory councils within the local community and state, to include the Aiken County Board of Education, the John de la Howe School (appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster), Aiken Regional Medical Centers, the USC Aiken Inclusion Advisory Council, the USC Aiken Partnership Board, the Aiken County Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee, and Rural Health Services Sexual Health Advisory Council. Mrs. Wesby has received numerous awards and recognition for her servant leadership to include "12 Black Leaders To Know in South Carolina for 2024," by The Post And Courier newspaper.
Mrs. Wesby is currently CEO and Cofounder of 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit, Umoja Village, established in 2020 by Wesby and her husband, which is a resource management and advocacy organization that connects the underrepresented, underserved, and marginalized population within Aiken County to resources needed to create positive and sustainable change thereby establishing communities that are more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Umoja Village operates under the major premise of unity and works diligently to unite the Black and African American community to leverage that unity to hold itself, elected officials, and community leaders accountable for change as it pertains to the underserved population. Umoja Village created the Richard Johnson, Jr. Umoja Village Resource Center and serves as a leading community change agent.
Mrs. Wesby has been married to Donald Wesby of Waynesboro, Georgia, for almost 26 years. He is creator of Don’s Seasoning Delight, all-purpose seasoning/marinade sold in major grocery stores, via the Internet, and is used in over 200 school cafeterias. Together, they have three adult children and three beautiful granddaughters and a host of "adopted" sons and daughters. Mrs. Wesby and her husband are connected to the Greater Faith Fellowship Church in Aiken where Ms. Wesby directs the youth choir. Every day, it is Mrs. Wesby’s desire to do the Lord’s will and to serve others as Christ is her example.