Susan L. Taylor is editorial director of Essence magazine. Taylor has been the driving force behind one of the most celebrated African-American owned business success stories of the past three decades. She oversees the editorial operations of the magazine and writes the popular "In the Spirit" column each month.

For more than a decade, the Essence Music Festival has been a major event in New Orleans, Louisiana. Affectionately known as "the party with a purpose," the festival features three days of concerts by leading artists, motivational seminars and a marketplace.

A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Susan L. Taylor was the founder of her own company, Nequai Cosmetics, before becoming Essence's fashion and beauty editor and, in 1981, its editor-in-chief.

She is the author of three books: "In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor," " Lessons in Living," and "Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives", the latter co-authored with her husband, Khephra Burns.

In 1999, Taylor became the first African-American woman to receive The Henry Johnson Fisher Award from the Magazine Publishers of America, the magazine industry's highest honor. In 2002, Taylor was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors' (ASME) Hall of Fame, which celebrates the career-long records of excellence, creativity and impact of a select group of highly influential magazine journalists.

Taylor is personally committed to serving and empowering the poor and to working with disadvantaged women and teenagers to help them realize their strengths and take charge of their lives. Taylor is currently co-Chair of a capital campaign with Danny Glover to raise money to build housing in the rural areas of South Africa.