In October, I will celebrate my first year as LEE’s President. I am so proud of the team that I get to work with every single day. They are passionate about their work. They want to make sure our members have the tools they need to center equity in their communities, not just this election year, and regardless of who gets voted in. We all agree that our voices need to be heard from the classroom to the offices, to the boardrooms of corporate America and beyond. 

With this in mind, we are relaunching LEE’s podcast, The Leaders’ Table. Originally started in 2016, the podcast features incredible civic leaders and has contributed to public discourse on the importance of being a leader in your community and remaining civically engaged. I am so pleased to be continuing this conversation, now more relevant than ever. 

This season, we will share the voices of six remarkable change leaders offering inspiring stories, thought-provoking discussions, and unique perspectives on leadership, purpose, community, and advocacy. Before each monthly episode, I will be sharing some of my thoughts, perspectives, and reactions as a precursor to what you will hear. It’s my own stream of consciousness and how the episode has impacted me and speaks to the mission we work towards every day at LEE.

Our first episode features Jonah Edelman, co-founder of Stand for Children and the son of powerful children’s rights activist Marion Wright Edelman. In this episode, Jonah recounts his transformative journey from resisting his family's legacy to embracing it, spurred by personal experiences and his mother's guidance. Jonah recalls his remarkable growth as a leader, grappling with imposter syndrome along the way, while urging individuals to prioritize service and passion over personal ambition.

I have known Jonah for over 15 years and am always inspired by his insights, humility and self reflection of his leadership journey and lessons along the way.  I hope you will be as inspired by Jonah’s story and that a new generation of leaders will get involved in civic engagement and community impact work. As Jonah sees it, “It’s our obligation, it’s our opportunity, it’s our blessing to be able to do that for others – what was done so willingly and generously for us.” At a time when advocacy work can feel so challenging, even impossible, it is important for future leaders to hear the message Jonah shares: the work is too important for you to give up! 

One of Jonah’s many important messages in this episode is to pursue what makes you happy. Whether this applies to your personal or professional life, Jonah says to “focus on what gives you energy” and more specifically, “what gives you positive energy.” 

At LEE, we support our leaders on their journey to turn their passions into action, at all stages of life and career in an effort to advance equity everywhere. Listen to Jonah’s episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, directly on our website, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Let us know what inspired you from Jonah’s story on our social channels!