kNOw new leaders ep.02 | The Game of Chess with Guest Lemuel “Life” LaRoche
Join Words Beats & Life Inc.’s Founder and Executive Director, Mazi Mutafa and guest Lemuel “Life” LaRoche discuss leadership and the game of chess in the second episode of kNOw new leaders. Watch Below!
In this episode we continue our discussion of leadership with one of our favorite players and teachers of chess, Lemuel “Life” LaRoche.
Referred to as “The Royal Game”chess is often viewed as a game of war, but it's also a strategic game of business that involves leadership, vision, talent management, and sacrifice.
Lemuel LaRoche is the founder and executive director of Chess and Community, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to developing young leaders and critical thinkers in Northeast Georgia. Known in the communities that he serves as "Life" he fuses chess with conventional therapeutic methods to curb impulsive behavior amongst youth with delinquent pasts.
With over two decades of experience in adolescent, family, and community development, Life brings a fresh innovative approach to his work.
He is the subject of Life the Griot (2014), a documentary highlighting the work that he has accomplished in Athens, Georgia, and the surrounding areas. Life was listed as one of Athens’ exceptional community leaders in 2013 and his organization has been featured in Georgia Magazine.
He is a 2015 recipient of the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award. Life has presented at TEDxUGA, an independently organized TEDTalks event.
His organization has been featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s On Second Thought, PBS NewsHour, and CBS News. He is the recipient of the 2016 Daily Points of Light Award and was recently recognized as an Atlanta Braves Community Hero.
Life is internationally renowned for his poetry, which he uses as a tool for empowerment, reconditioning, and community outreach. He is the author of two books, Tree of Life: The Human Ascension and Hidden Ripples: Life’s Unspoken Language.
He is an instructor in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia.
Life is also a radio personality at WXAG 92.7 FM. His segment, Shifting Perspectives, focuses on exploring community solutions to complex problems in Northeast Georgia.
You can learn more about Lemuel LaRoche here.
Visit Chess and Community, a non-profit youth development organization that prepares youth to lead through community engagement and civic empowerment.
New episodes of kNOw new leaders air every Sunday on WBL’s YouTube channel.
