The Story Behind the Message
Built to Win. Built to Lead. Built to Last.
My family, football, and education each opened a new chapter in my life. Together, those experiences shape the message I bring to audiences today.
Act I — The Foundation
My story begins in Benton Harbor, Michigan. My grandmother’s formal education ended in the third grade. My mother worked as a sharecropper in Mississippi and my father in Missouri early in their lives. My father became a decorated Air Force veteran and suffered life-altering injuries in Vietnam.
My family faced difficult circumstances, but my parents believed in me. Their work ethic gave me a foundation. At eleven, football gave me a way to channel frustration and anger through discipline. I also loved learning, and people helped me see possibilities I had not known existed.
When my parents separated, my basketball coach provided a place to stay and helped me remain at Portage Northern. My father later returned to Portage, where we shared a one-bedroom apartment so I could continue at the school. A rival school’s coach introduced me to historically Black colleges and universities. A visit to Tennessee State—and my first airplane flight—expanded my world.
A Black college tour later brought me to Xavier University in New Orleans. I fell in love with the school and chose it over opportunities to play college football elsewhere. But I had no university housing or meal plan. I slept on a cement floor and lived in a shotgun house where power outages spoiled our food. I was pursuing an education while trying to secure the basics of daily life.
Eventually, I returned closer to home. Michigan became my next opportunity.
Act II — Earning My Place, Continuing to Lead
I arrived in Ann Arbor by Greyhound with a trunk and a laundry basket containing my possessions. I came for an education. A dorm room and meal plan meant a great deal after Xavier. I was a first-generation Black student finding my place.
Watching Michigan lose to Colorado on a last-second Hail Mary in 1994, I felt a possibility take hold: I could play here. I could help this team.
I began the walk-on process in January 1995. The coach who had invited me had left. Workouts, waiting, dismissals, and scarce practice opportunities followed. I kept returning, working, and making the most of every chance. Gradually, I earned playing time and my teammates’ respect. I became a starting linebacker and captain of Michigan’s 1997 team.
Four games into that season, an injury against Indiana ended my playing year. I had to confront the disappointment of losing the season I had worked so hard to reach—and discover how to keep contributing.
I stayed involved and continued serving as captain. After we beat Ohio State and won the Big Ten championship, my teammates placed the trophy in my hands and carried me off the field. I later dressed and led the team onto the field at the Rose Bowl, where we won the national championship.
Football had given me an extraordinary chapter. I was fulfilled by what we had accomplished, and ready to explore what came next.
Act III — Education Opens the World
I chose graduate school for myself. I enjoyed learning and wanted to explore, grow, and create a meaningful career. Trusted Michigan faculty recommended educational technology. My love of computers and the emerging internet made it a natural field to explore.
Speaking was already a parallel part of my life. I shared my Michigan story with students, coaches, and young people at camps, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and persist through difficulty.
Graduate study deepened my interest in cognition and learning. Situated cognition helped me examine how learning connects to culture, context, and experience. As I became more immersed in scholarly life, I began asking broader questions about educational systems and opportunity.
I chose Howard for my doctorate in psychology. Its international community, faculty, and fellow students expanded my world. I became a student leader, presented research, assisted with teaching, and co-taught. Six weeks in The Gambia and a semester in Bahia, Brazil were transformative.
Further study at Harvard and work at the Children’s Defense Fund, Johns Hopkins, and other universities continued that journey. Over time, personal exploration developed into scholarship, teaching, and institutional leadership. I eventually left a tenured faculty position to become CEO of the Umoja Community Education Foundation.
Today, I work to expand opportunity for others—and carry the lessons of that journey to a wider audience.
Bring Doc to Your Stage
Championship Psychology draws on the experiences of an athlete, educational psychologist, and executive leader to explore ambition, resilience, and leadership through change.