Harriette Cole is a life stylist, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, nationally syndicated advice column

Advice column

An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist . The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt"...

ist, motivational speaker

Motivational speaker

A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

, media trainer, magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 editor

Editor

The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...

, lifestyle writer, wife and mother.

Early life

Cole was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the middle of three sisters. Her parents are Doris Freeland Cole, a retired kindergarten teacher who has devoted her life to her children, and the Honorable Harry A. Cole

Harry A. Cole

Harry A. Cole was an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore, Maryland. Cole was also a member of the Maryland State Senate and the first African-American ever elected to the Maryland Senate and the first African-American to serve on the Maryland Court of Appeals.-Background:Born in Washington,...

, the first Black judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals

Maryland Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...

. Cole's sisters are Susan Hill

Susan Hill

Susan Hill is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror and I'm the King of the Castle for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award in 1971....

, a vice president at Disney in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and Stephanie Hill, a vice president at Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

 in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

Education

Harriette Cole went to public schools in Baltimore City including Dickey Hill Elementary School, Greenspring Junior High School and Western High School

Western High School

Western High School may refer to:*Western High School – Anaheim, California*Western High School – Barry, Illinois*Western High School – Davie, Florida...

. She graduated from the all-girls' Western High School.

Cole spent her first year in college at Towson State University. She completed her college education at Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 where she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

 sorority.

Career

Cole worked for then freshmen member of Congress Barbara Boxer

Barbara Boxer

Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....

 after she graduated from college. During that year she continued to freelance as a runway model. She became an assistant editor at Essence Magazine in the lifestyle section, then known as Contemporary Living.

For the next several years, Cole was promoted annually until she became the editor of that section. During her tenure in Contemporary Living Cole traveled all over the world documenting cultures of people of African descent. Her travels took her to the Ivory Coast in West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 in Southern Africa

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

, Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, throughout the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and also across the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In 1995 she left Essence and launched her own media company which is now titled Harriette Cole Media.

Through her 15-year-old business, Cole has participated in a broad range of projects. She has written a number of books including How to Be: A Guide to Conscious Living, Choosing Truth, Vows and Coming Together. She has helped to launch a number of magazines such as American Legacy Woman, Savoy, and Uptown. Cole led the visual transformation of Ebony magazine

Ebony (magazine)

Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...

, and most recently served as editor in chief of the magazine. During her 3½ years at Ebony, Cole produced covers featuring Barack

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 and Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...

 before he announced his run for the presidency, Michelle Obama in the thick of the campaign (Cole also wrote that cover story), Barack Obama days after he was elected, Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 for his final photo shoot and interview, and Prince.

Cole has provided media training, presentation training and/or fashion styling for many clients including Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...

, Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

, Carl Thomas

Carl Thomas

Carl Thomas is an American R&B singer.-Biography:Thomas attended Aurora East High School. Thomas sang around Chicago and became a member of The Formula. He branched out however, and traveled to New York where he sang at clubs during open-mic nights...

, JoJo

JoJo

Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque , professionally known as JoJo, is an American recording artist and actress. After competing on the television show, America's Most Talented Kids, she was noticed by record producer Vincent Herbert who asked her to audition for Blackground Records.JoJo's self-titled...

, Shontelle

Shontelle

Shontelle Layne , known professionally as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer, and songwriter. She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Her sophomore album, No Gravity, was released in September 2010...

 and Hal Linton

Hal Linton

Hal Alexander Linton, is a Barbadian born Soul/R&B singer, songwriter and producer. In October 2008 news broke in the small Caribbean island of Barbados that Hal Linton inked a million dollar deal with major record label Universal Motown, following in the footsteps of other Barbadian international...

.

Cole has provided presentation and empowerment workshops for businesses and institutions, including Speaking of Women's Health, Kraft

Kraft

Kraft has more than one meaning:* Kraft Foods, the world's third largest food and beverage company by revenue* Kraft process, a paper pulp production method* Kraft paper, paper produced by the Kraft process* Kraft , a video game character...

, the Saralee Corporation, Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

, the National Urban League

National Urban League

The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...

, National Action Network

National Action Network

The National Action Network is a not-for-profit, civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, New York, in early 1991....

, Jack & Jill of America, Delta Sigma Theta and more.

Cole hosted a reality series on the ABC Family Channel, called Perfect Match New York. She hosted a daily radio show on XM Satellite radio, called Pulse. For the past ten years she has written the nationally syndicated advice column (six days a week), "Sense & Sensitivity," which is syndicated by United Media

United Media

United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...

/United Features Syndicate. (See colesense.tumblr.com.)

Media

She has been a frequent guest on the Today Show, offering advice on how to be your best. She has been featured on Access Hollywood

Access Hollywood

Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...

, The Insider

The Insider

An insider is a member of a group of people of limited number and with restricted access.The Insider may refer to:-Film media:*The Insider , a 1999 film drama about a 60 Minutes exposé of the tobacco industry, by director Michael Mann*"The Insider" , a 2002 episode of the American television crime...

, MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, LXTV

LXTV

LXTV is an Emmy-award winning producer of lifestyle entertainment programming. Started in 2006 by former MTV executives Morgan Hertzan and Joseph Varet as a privately owned broadband TV network and Website, LXTV was acquired in January of 2008 by NBC Owned Television Stations , a division of...

, The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....

, Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray

Rachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...

, NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

, BET

Bet

Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...

 and TVOne.

Family

Harriette Cole has been married to fashion and beauty photographer George Chinsee since 1993. They have a young daughter, Carrie Emmanuelle Cole Chinsee, who was born in 2003. They reside in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

External links