Blogs

Sometimes the thread through a career is not a job. It is a question. An article from the Understand Series In 2019, I enrolled in an MBA program at the College of William and Mary. The first course was called Renaissance Manager, and it opened with an assignment I did not fully appreciate at the time. Every student had to identify a wicked problem: a real, unsolved challenge from their professional life or their industry, something with no clean answer and too many competing

An article from the Understand series For years, I asked other people to tell me their stories. I sat with alumni, students, educators, executives, and families. I asked my five questions. I listened from there. Over time, I built an organization around a belief I had begun to see again and again: every story holds knowledge the person carrying it may not fully recognize. Then someone asked me to explain mine. And I struggled. The Sentence I Was Telling Myself It happened whe

This is an article from the Listen series I want to tell you about a point guard's eyes. In my first years back at Episcopal High School, this time as a boys' varsity basketball coach rather than a student, I coached a young man named Anthony. He wanted to run our offense. He wanted the ball in his hands as the starting point guard, and anyone who has played the position knows what that job actually requires. It is not the shooting. It is the listening. I can still see him in

I lost my father, Stanley Edward Lee, to brain cancer, glioblastoma, nine years ago today. I felt a tightness in my chest this morning. I thought it was from a bad night of sleep. Nope. It’s August 12th. A day that somehow still sneaks up on me. Nine years ago, I knew this day was coming. The cancer was aggressive. We discovered it around January, followed by a short seven-month battle. As I carry that pain, I continue to create joy and love in honor of Stanley Edward Lee. La

When I started Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC), I was interested in stories. I wanted to understand how people experienced schools, organizations, and communities. I wanted to hear about moments of opportunity, challenge, belonging, uncertainty, and growth. At the time, I was not thinking about frameworks, models, or institutional design. I was simply curious about people's journeys and what those journeys might teach us. As the conversations accumulated, however, so

At one point, it felt as though nearly every corner of the College Football Playoff conversation traced back in some way to Nick Saban’s leadership system. Former assistants, coordinators, and program leaders connected to Saban had spread across some of the most visible programs in college football, carrying pieces of his philosophy into new locker rooms, institutions, and generations of athletes. Nick Saban- Former Head Football Coach at the University of Alabama Kirby Smart

2/2. My birthday. This year, it landed while watching the 67th Grammy Awards, where Pharrell Williams walked on stage to receive the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. And there was something about it that slowed me down. Maybe it was the crisp hairline. Maybe it was the perfectly tailored baby pink velvet suit with the bell bottom flare that felt intentional, not nostalgic. Maybe it was the simple truth that Pharrell is 52 and somehow looks untouched. An unblemished, black don’t c

First impressions matter. That’s true. Interviews do leave an imprint. But after years as a former independent school student, Admissions Director, Dormitory Parent, coach, and mentor, I’ve learned that interviews are only one piece of a much larger admissions puzzle. They work in tandem with transcripts, teacher recommendations, test scores, and the written application itself. What the interview offers is context. It brings dimension, voice, and humanity to what already exis

Building on the foundation introduced in Part One: Where Belonging Begins , Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC) continues its mission to help schools, companies, and communities build systems of belonging through narrative, data, and design. Founded by educator and equity designer Jonathan Lee, BLAC centers one guiding belief: belonging begins with listening. In Part Two: Turning Voice into Vision , BLAC moves from story to system—showing how personal narratives bec

Introduction to Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC) Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC) is a research and storytelling organization that helps schools, companies, and communities build systems of belonging through narrative, data, and design. Founded by educator Jonathan Lee, BLAC combines human storytelling with evidence-based analysis to turn lived experience into institutional learning. BLAC’s work began with a simple premise: belonging begins with list

October 12th always seems to catch me off guard. Even four years later, I still wake up on this day with a heaviness I can’t quite shake. This morning was no different. My bed felt like it had grown roots, anchoring me in place, unwilling to let me rise. The weight of memory, of grief, of love, it all pressed down before I even opened my eyes. But then came the sound of little feet. My kids, with their boundless energy and tender hearts, knew what day it was. They didn’t need

I'd like to open this blog with an essential question: This thought-provoking question was posed by Dr. Olufemi Fadeyibi of Uplift...