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Valerie Ervin is the President of the Ray Charles Foundation, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to continuing the legacy of the legendary Ray Charles through educational programs and public service. Ervin has had an exciting career in the field of show business. During her long tenure with the Ray Charles Organization, Ms. Ervin personally worked alongside one of the entertainment world’s most unforgettable icons, Ray Charles. As the guardian of his legacy, Ervin is spearheading the Foundation’s philanthropic efforts and managing the on-going commercial interest and revenues that Mr. Charles bequeathed to the non-profit organization. She is also overseeing the formidable task of preserving and archiving Mr. Charles’ music product, document and artifacts. Those will continue to be housed in the historic landmark building Mr. Charles built in the early 1960s for his office and studio in Los Angeles. Ervin is moving forward on the development of the site to become the Ray Charles Memorial Library in addition to serving as headquarters for the Foundation. The Library will stage exhibits and host events in keeping with its educational mission.
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Prior to heading the Foundation, Ervin had served as a trusted head of operations for Ray Charles for the last decade of his life. She was also a key member of the team that helped produce and market his final album, Genius Loves Company, and was on hand with Mr. Charles’ longtime manager Joe Adams to accept eight Grammy Awards for that effort. Mr. Charles trusted Ervin’s keen business sense in the selection of Jamie Foxx as the lead for his Academy Award winning performance in the feature film “Ray.” Mr. Charles recognized something special in Ervin, who worked for a tenant in his building when he first met her. He hired her away and she quickly rose in his organization. With his mentorship, she learned the intricacies of the music business and in the process, discovered that Mr. Charles had far more to teach about unbounded human potential and more specifically, how to tap the genius inherent in each of us. From this first-hand experience, Ms. Ervin honed her expertise under the tutelage of the world famous “Genius” Valerie Ervin was born and resides in Los Angeles.
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