In honor of pride month, we sat down with LEE Career Coach Jeffrey Richardson. Jeffrey’s passion and mission in life has been clear - to positively influence the social emotional health of children and adolescents in our country and ensure equitable access to support and services. Jeffrey started his journey at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He spent the early part of his career working in youth service nonprofits. After deciding he wanted to work more directly with the youth and be involved in changing systems, he completed a Masters degree in Social Work at Howard University. This allowed him to then work within the school system in Washington, D.C. directly with adolescents on topics such as healthy behaviors, mental health, sexuality, and social emotional health. However, he felt the impact he was having was not enough. Through his work at foundations, he was able to be involved in the creation of programs that brought social emotional learning and support to places where it may not be available already. Finally, in order to have even more impact, he felt he needed to support people who wanted to transition into leadership roles who would focus on the equity of all students - from working directly on political campaigns to coaching leaders. Today, Jeffrey serves as a LEE Career Coach, supporting members wishing to enter and grow in the policy, advocacy & organizing fields. “It’s exciting to be able to support individuals who are thinking about how they use their lived experiences both working within the classroom or in the education sector broadly to do more.” 

Among the many ways Jeffrey identifies, he is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Watch this 3-part video series to learn more about why he believes it is important to celebrate Pride Month every year, how allowing people to bring their authentic selves into every space will ultimately create more equity for students, and his message to LEE members.

Jeffrey on the importance of Pride Month

Jeffrey talks about the value of bringing you whole self into spaces

Jeffrey’s message to LEE members

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