The AMA Foundation (AMAF) is proud to recognize Dr. Tonya Bradford as the 2022 WQS Award Recipient. The WQS Award recognizes world-class marketing scholars and mentors of color while carrying on the legacy of the late Jerome Williams, Bill Qualls, and late Thaddeus Spratlen. The AMA Foundation WQS Award carries on their legacy by recognizing outstanding mentors in the marketing community in the mold of Williams, Qualls, and Spratlen; the WQS award encourages and rewards outstanding mentors of people of color in the academic marketing community.
The AMA Foundation is pleased to announce that Tonya Bradford has been selected as the 2022 WQS Award recipient!
Dr. Tonya Williams Bradford currently serves as an associate professor and Inclusive Excellence Term Chair at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California at Irvine. She earned her undergraduate degree in Anthropology, MBA, and Ph.D. in Marketing at Northwestern University. As an undergrad, she participated in an archeological excavation—fieldwork in consumer settings is (relatively) a piece of cake! She researches rituals, communities, and identity across phenomena including gifting (e.g., registry, organ, charitable), relationships with money, communities (e.g., tailgating and support), acculturation, and brand loyalty.
Her research is published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Retailing, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Research in Consumer Behavior, has been presented at the Smithsonian Institute, and featured in the media in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and Ladies Home Journal. Prior to her academic career at UCI, Dr. Bradford spent 17 years in domestic and international markets including as general manager at S1 Corporation in Atlanta (now ACI); principal at Gemini Consulting (now Cap Gemini) in the US, UK, Belgium, and South Africa; Allstate Insurance; Charles Schwab & Co, Inc; and, Security Pacific Bank (now Bank America). She currently serves as a member of the board of directors at Live Oak Bank and Tealium.
Dr. Bradford teaches in the doctoral, master, and undergraduate programs at the Merage School, and is the co-founder, with her husband Dr. Kevin Bradford, of the Merage School Black Management Association. Professor Bradford will be honored at the 2022 Summer Academic Conference. Please click here to register and learn more about the conference!