Transformational Leader, Development Expert, & Experienced Marketing & Management Consultant

Zoraya E. Lee-Hamlin is a client-focused and relationship-oriented professional who excels in increasing organizational productivity through creative marketing, development and digital strategies.

Several years later, Zoraya founded RayZO, Inc to build upon the name with a purpose, to empower non-profit teams to maximize their impact and increase their capacity by presenting the most compelling story about their mission.

Fast forward 20 years later, RayZO, is a full-service marketing, branding development and consulting, and has been serving clients ranging from nationally recognized high-profile organizations to smaller community-based non-profits seeking to extend their brand, build awareness of their services, and increase and diversify their revenue streams.

RayZO is considered a Virtual Chief Development Officer, because the team works on accelerating each client’s growth by implementing successful grants management, fund development, communications and social media strategies, and executing profitable fundraisers.  Most of Zoraya’s clients initially hire RayZO for a specific project, but subsequently continue to use its services after experiencing positive results and learning about our full service approach.

Some notable highlights demonstrating our impact include:

• Building and launching 4 websites for MTV Entertainment Studios (a ViacomCBS company) for their First-Time initiatives, focused on recruiting women and diverse people of color as storytellers, directors, screenwriters and composers. Working in concert with several teams including project, creative, legal and compliance, RayZo designed the websites with the first site going live in July 2021. (firsttimedirectors.com)
• Serving as a Capacity-Building Expert for a number of non-profit grantees of the Victoria Foundation, a highly regarded foundation in the philanthropic community. RayZo is currently helping four Victoria Foundation grantees to assess their potential and implement a fund development plan introducing each client to new and efficient ways to fundraising, diversifying revenue streams, and developing internal expertise, systems and capacity for future growth.
• Zoraya helped increase revenue for family-owned supermarket chain in NJ by 20% in under a year.
• As a digital marketing and web development strategist for the NFL Alumni, Zoraya’s team is credited for building the new national website along with the new Membership portal that offers a seamless tool for membership recruitment. Her team also built 40 websites for NFL Alumni Chapters representing 45 communities across the country. RayZo team competed the project in record time within a 3-month period during the pandemic. (nflalumni.org)
• RayZO’s fund development and grants management activities consistently brings in new funding sources for many charitable organization.

Zoraya began her career in the non-profit industry when she joined the senior staff at the Urban League of Essex County, in 1993.  She worked in several senior roles and served as CEO before accepting a position as a member of the Extended Cabinet of the National Urban League in 1999. While at the National Urban League, Zoraya was the Director of Economic Self-Sufficiency and Technology Initiatives. Zoraya delivered testimony on the “Digital Divide” to the National Foundation for Women Legislators in Washington DC, which was used to develop model legislation for adoption by state legislators.  Among other accomplishments, Zoraya led the win on a $2.7 million software grant from Microsoft Corporation and a $1.5 million renewal grant from the Prudential Foundation. These grants were used to streamline the technological capacity of over 100 Urban League affiliates.  This transformative award enabled the National Urban League to build over 70 computer laboratories and training centers at over 65 Urban League affiliates throughout the country within a 15-month timespan.

Zoraya served as a member of the Board of Directors for La Casa de Don Pedro from1995 to 2022 and was its first and only woman to serve as Board President since La Casa’s founding in 1974.  She was in that role for 10 years from 2002 to 2012.  La Casa is considered the largest community development corporation serving the Latino population in New Jersey and serves as a model for many other community development corporations.  Zoraya retired from the board after 27 years of volunteer service.

Zoraya is a graduate of Rutgers Business School and earned a Masters in Business Administration in May of 1993. Zoraya hails from Monmouth County, NJ, but has been an Essex County resident for over 35 years. In her spare time, she enjoys family activities with her two children, Ray, Jr. and Asia, and golfing and traveling with her husband of 33 years, Raymond L. Hamlin, Esq.

FUN FACT

In the early 1990’s, Zoraya (also know as Zo) and husband Ray Hamlin would host a series of events and group vacations under the banner “RayZo Entertainment and RayZo Rendezvous.”   Friends enjoyed the events so much they would often ask “when is the next RayZo party?”  Years later, Zoraya would build upon that brand and founded RayZO, Inc. combining the names Ray + Zo.

MOTIVATIONS

Zoraya has a special fondness for working with organizations that meet the needs of underserved marginalized children and families.  Because of her extensive background in marketing and fund development in cities, Zoraya is often noted for her cultural sensitivity and understanding on how to reach a diverse community.