Naomi Smith Oglesby

I've been working as a lawyer since 2010, but this is actually my second career. I used to be a professional television reporter and anchor, and I truly believe the experience I gained as a journalist was instrumental in what I do today. I worked my way through college, attending the number one journalism school in the country, University of Missouri Columbia, where my major was broadcast journalism. It was a very competitive program - I remember graduating with only 19 students because it was so competitive. I worked as a professional anchor while I was a full-time student, and then continued working as a journalist for about 3 years after graduation, plus 2 years in advertising. Growing up, my father was a pastor of one of the largest churches in Detroit in its heyday, so I had exposure to local politicians and judges who would visit the church. Moving from Michigan to South Missouri exposed me to different things I had never experienced, like covering the death penalty and the legislative beat in the Missouri Capitol. I always felt like I was doing a disservice to society because I wanted to dig in more and do investigative journalism rather than just 30-second sound bites. Those experiences, combined with what happened on 9-11, became my pivoting factor. I remember calling my husband and telling him I had decided to go to law school full-time, didn't know how I was going to do it or pay for it, but that's exactly what I did. I received my JD in 2005 and was on law review in law school. Now I lead the labor and employment group at Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, operating in 14 states and the District of Columbia with over 17,000 employees. I served as their external counsel for several years before being given the opportunity to come in-house. I truly enjoy working for my company and feel very blessed. I see myself growing in leadership and continuing to make an impact, driving business and building solid, strong relationships with business leaders. I enjoy giving them advice and counsel to help them reach their business goals and drive impact in the organization. I'm definitely a people person and enjoy helping people. That's one reason why I enjoy being on the management side - because I'm able to help people and really make a difference in their lives. Anytime there might be a situation that necessitates change, I am in the position to make that happen.