Harriette Cole

Harriette Cole wrote the book on contemporary etiquette and life coaching – literally. As President and Creative Director of New York-based life coaching company Harriette Cole Productions, Cole has devoted her life to helping people discover how to cultivate their inherent ability to present themselves effectively. Cole's signature approach was developed over the course of many years while working in the fields of presentation, style, and writing. She calls this unique mix of life coaching, etiquette, and goal mentoring "life styling" or "designing your life from the outside in."

Cole believes it is essential to recognize an individual's personal and professional values in order to create a foundation and springboard for lasting success. To that end, she tailors workshops and one-on-one trainings to suit her various clients' specific needs and goals. She has performed life styling for a broad range of organizations including Kraft Foods, Sara Lee Corporation, Cornell University, the National Urban League, and the NAACP. Her training has supported the entertainment industry on behalf of such recording industry giants as Universal Records, J Records, Motown, and Def Jam. She has worked directly with many notable recording artists including Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blije, Erykah Badu, Carl Thomas, and JoJo. Cole has coached many forward-thinking members of the general population – from children in extracurricular educational programs to women who are transitioning from welfare to work.

Among Cole's many accomplishments are her best-selling books that support daily living. She authored the preeminent African American wedding planner, Jumping the Broom, and its companion, Jumping the Broom Wedding Workbook. Later, she penned a guide to living with grace and integrity, How to Be. In 2003, Cole published two more books: Choosing Truth: Living an Authentic Life, a general-market book designed to encourage people to pursue rigorously honest lives, and Coming Together, an activity book for African American children and families, created to inspire meaningful interaction. A second edition of Jumping the Broom, along with a new wedding book focused on designing a sacred ceremony entitled Vows, were both released in February 2004.

Cole most recently led the transformation of the iconic Ebony magazine brand, the oldest and largest African American magazine in the world. During her tenure as creative director, and later as editor-in-chief, she produced groundbreaking covers and features on President Obama, Michelle Obama, Michael Jackson, and Prince.

Cole previously served millions of readers for 11 years when she worked as lifestyle and fashion director at Essence magazine. Since then, she has been able to reach a broad and diverse multi-ethnic audience through her books; her nationally syndicated advice column in the New York Daily News, "Sense and Sensitivity"; and her active work as an inspirational speaker across the country. Cole was the editor of American Legacy Woman, a lifestyle magazine targeted to African American women, and also served as the editorial director for Uptown, a lifestyle magazine for the New York urban elite.

In addition to her editorial work, Cole has significant experience in radio and television. She served as host of "Pulse," a magazine-format talk show on XM Satellite Radio. "Pulse" addressed points of interest to a largely female audience including parenting, entertaining, fashion, personal finance, and, of course, relationship management and etiquette. In television, Cole served as the relationship expert on the popular ABC Family channel reality series Perfect Match NY. She has also appeared on numerous national and local television and radio programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, The View, The Isaac Mizrahi Show, NPR, The Rachael Ray Show, and the Hallmark Channel's New Morning.

Cole graduated summa cum laude from Howard University. She is a member of the board of directors of ASME and serves on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Multicultural Audience Development Initiative, the educational charity FoodFight, and the international charity PRASAD.