Author Archives: Damon R. Richardson

The last class of our EDLP 717, Communicating Research Findings, was a culmination of our study on “Zen” techniques and data visualization. The convergence of both concepts resulted in two final products, an oral presentation and final paper which provided a personal narrative of our leadership story. And now, having been introduced to the text [...]
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A few weeks ago in our first Saturday class (Communicating Research findings) we were privy to a “gold standard” presentation (via YouTube) by Rene Brown, a nationally renowned speaker, best-selling author, and a researcher at the University of Houston. She shared an inspiring story on the power of vulnerability. That presentation began a paradigm shift [...]
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Collaborative writing, in my opinion, is an exercise in balance-a balance between writing and organization skills among members of a team. The collaborative writing exercise given at our first (fall 2012) Saturday class provided us a quick glimpse of what is needed to work as a team to compete a collaborative writing project. Although the [...]
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My understanding of the concept of advocacy-before delving into this course-was primarily restricted to non-profit organizations (and the like) and leaders of organizations with the power to make a change. Not only has my view of advocacy broadened from organizational causes and a leadership (a leader advocating for his or her constituency), but I now [...]
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When it comes to advocates, there is arguably no better advocate than the President of the United States. While hosting an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) pride reception in the East Room of the White House today, President Obama said that he would be a “fellow advocate” as long as he is president. A [...]
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I wanted to share with you a portion of a recent paper I wrote on developing my presence as a leader. I began the paper giving my definition of what it means to have presence:  the ability to garner attention when you walk into a room; to have your opinion valued by others; and to [...]
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