Pride is from Orange, New Jersey.[1] She earned B.A. in business management and a B.A. economics from the North Carolina State University in 1987.[1][2] She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.[1] Pride received a M.A. in corporate and public communication from Seton Hall University in 1998.[3] Her thesis was titled, Why Black Males Have Emerged as One of the Most Troubled Groups of American Society: Their Academic Challenge, Poverty, and Social and Economic Isolation.[3] Michael S. McGraw was her academic advisor.[3]
For almost ten years, Pride worked at IBM as a marketing program manager in the corporate learning division and as a manager of corporate community relations and public affairs.[1] She was the vice president for development and communications of the Child Care Services Association in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[1] Pride joined North Carolina A&T State University in 2010 where she held a variety of roles including liaison and senior advisor to the chancellor, chief of staff, and chief communications officer.[1][2] She became its vice provost for academic strategy and operations in 2018.[1][2] Pride completed a Ph.D. in leadership studies from North Carolina A&T State University.[2] Her dissertation was titled, The Perceptions of University Leaders on Trustees Practice of Policy Governance: A Focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).[4] In 2020, she became the twelfth president of the West Virginia State University.[1] Succeeding interim president R. Charles Byers, she is the first female to serve in the role.[1] She resigned in July 2021 and was succeeded on an interim basis by vice president Ericke S. Cage.[5][6]
Pride has two sons.[1]