Business profile: Peggy Bradley

Peggy Bradley has worked in the pharmaceuticals and medical device industry for over thirteen years. She gained experience in various capacities through research and development, quality control, working as a bench chemist, quality compliance and quality assurance. Peggy currently works in the division of regulatory affairs.  Her responsibilities fluctuate daily and include working with drug formulators to bring generic drugs to market.  Peggy is also accountable for the review, approval and preparation of different processes related to the submission of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  She is responsible for compliance with FDA regulations and ensuring the safety and efficacy of drugs being formulated, manufactured and submitted for consumer use.

Peggy grew up in the great city of Miami, Florida. As an adult, she looks back and understands she was blessed to have loving parents who worked hard and loved their children unconditionally.  She grew up in a middle class home with parents who owned their own business in what she knows now as an inner city community.  Peggy spent her days in Overtown and lived in what was then called incorporated Opa-Locka, Florida.  She grew up where the community was part of a larger village, having dinner at a childhood friends home was common, and coming inside when the streetlights came on was law.  Obeying authority such as neighbors and schoolteachers was an everyday occurrence.  In retrospect, Peggy always felt safe in her neighborhood.

At the age of nineteen, Peggy became pregnant her sophomore year in college and this reality pushed her to understand that there was someone greater that needed her more than ever. Reading the statistics on being a single teenage mom and being told her life was over and that she would never graduate from college were constantly brought to Peggy’s attention.  Hearing the searing behind your back but in your face conversations about how she is a failure, such as, hearing her college chemistry advisor state that it was impossible to work a full-time job, raise a child and obtain a chemistry degree ignited an unstoppable and unshakable faith in God.  Not only was Peggy determined to obtain a degree in chemistry, she wanted to ensure her daughter lived a great life, have a promising career and knew God would make it possible for her to change the face of statistics. Peggy went on to graduate from Barry University in Miami, Florida with a degree in chemistry. She continued to obtain her Master of Business Administration from American Intercontinental University.

The presence of African-Americans is very scarce in the area of science and engineering. Many people want to climb the corporate ladder as does Peggy; however her passion lies in the ability to educate and make more people of color aware of this industry by reminding minorities that although a degree in the area of science and engineering may be daunting, it is indeed tangible through hard work and determination.

Peggy has several life coaches which include her mom, dad and Ms. Betty Lee, an individual she recognizes as her “special mom.” Peggy’s father was every girls dream parent.  He was not only a father to Peggy, but to her daughter and countless of others as well.  He never stopped believing in her and always told her she would make it.  Although he is no longer here on earth, he has left a lasting impact that has shaped her life in ways never imagined.  Peggy’s mother is such a significant and awesome woman of God.  She is a mother that prays, a mother who chastises, and a mother who forced Peggy as a nineteen year old spoiled brat to grow up.  Were it not for her mom’s tenacious love to push her out into the deep world, she would have been just another statistic.

Betty Lee, encouraged Peggy in the midst of being so afraid and scared after finding out she was pregnant while in college. Ms. Lee ensured Peggy that she would make it, she would graduate from college and that her daughter would have a fantastic life. Ms. Lee passed away when Peggy’s daughter was a year old and she thanks her because when she didn’t have hope nor know how to pray as she does now, Ms. Lee led the way which helped mold her to be the woman she is today.

Because of these people and countless of others, it has made Peggy’s commitment to work so hard to love those who are considered unlovable, to teach those that others have given up on and to educate those who are willing to listen.

Peggy is most excited and passionate about her relationship with God. He has brought her through the most difficult and trying times of her life.  Encouraging others through God’s word makes her very excited as well as reassuring others that there is no such thing as a dead end in life, but there are only new beginnings if you refuse to quit.  Being a mom to her daughter is the most precious gift God has entrusted to Peggy. It makes her very happy and honored to watch her daughter grow and fight through situations that are beyond her control in pursuit of her college education.

A key component that motivates Peggy is, knowing that her line of work makes a difference in someone’s life. Her first job in an FDA regulated industry, she received training from the QA manager that really changed the course of her career. The manager stated, “that what you do in this industry saves lives.  There is someone or someone’s loved one who is depending on the medication they consume to save and improve the quality of their life.”  At that point, it became more than just a job and a paycheck; it became a passion because Peggy understood that what she did could either hurt or help someone. Being on the helping end is where she desires to be.

Atlanta Free Speech salutes Peggy Bradley.