Lonnie Ali

SPEAKING CLIENT

YOLANDA “LONNIE” ALI
Healthcare and Care Giver Advocate, Human Rights Activist, and Co-Founder of Muhammad Ali Center

Muhammad Ali may be, “The Greatest” but today the person leading the fight of his life – against the devastating, degenerative neurological illness Parkinson’s disease – is his wife, Yolanda “Lonnie” Ali. When they married in 1986, Muhammad Ali had just been diagnosed, and Lonnie knew that their life together would be filled with challenges. Like a champ, she set her sights on lofty goals, including preserving the Ali legacy and becoming an outspoken activist bringing awareness to Parkinson’s disease and as a passionate advocate for caregivers. At the podium, she is as eloquent as her iconic husband, inspiring audiences to be positive, embrace education, and strive to open doors of possibility and opportunity for all.

Lonnie Ali met her famous husband when she was just a girl in Louisville, KY. She watched her neighbor, the young Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., become the legendary Muhammad Ali, transcending his sport to become a national symbolic figure amid the civil rights and anti-war unrest of the 1960s. While Muhammad became the world heavyweight boxing champion, Lonnie was coming into a successful career in her own right, as a business woman. Upon marrying Muhammad Ali in November 1986, she began the effort to preserve and elevate the Ali legacy, both through her work as Vice President of Greatest of All Time (GOAT) and through frequent humanitarian missions with Muhammad Ali that took the pair around the globe. GOAT was sold in 2006, and Lonnie remains on the board of new company that was formed – Muhammad Ali Enterprises.

In 2005, Lonnie and Muhammad Ali opened the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The Center’s mission is to preserve the Ali legacy – especially the promotion of tolerance and understanding among different people, communities and nations – for future generations. She currently serves as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

As an advocate for children’s rights, caregiver’s rights, and Parkinson’s disease research, Lonnie remains actively involved in various charitable and educational causes. She serves on the Board of Directors and Founders’ Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation and recently partnered with a major pharmaceutical company to launch a national campaign in support of Parkinson’s caregivers. She is a frequent guest and speaker at Parkinson’s disease support groups and Parkinson’s research gatherings.

Lonnie received her B.A. degree at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1978 and began her business career in sales with Kraft Foods, Inc. She continued her business studies at U.C.L.A. and received a MBA degree in 1986 with an emphasis in marketing. She currently divides her time between Berrien Springs, Michigan and Paradise Valley, Arizona.