Poet Brandon Leake to Headline Leadership Conference

  • by Sharon C Knox

America's Got Talent Winner Leads a Stellar Lineup 

Poet and artist-educator Brandon Leake will be keynote speaker at the Aggies Leading the Way conference this Friday evening. Hosted annually by the UC Davis Center for Leadership Learning, this year's virtual conference will also feature  actor Gabriela Cristina Fresquez, host of The LatinXpert, and Vernon A. Wall, President and Founder of One Better World LLC. 

The first ever poet to compete on America’s Got Talent, Leake won the national

Gabriela Frequez and Vernon Wall Composite photo
Vernon A. Wall (l) and Gabriela Frequez (r) are featured speakers.

competition in 2020. The Stockton native, who was once a counselor at Delta Community College, is known for highly personal poetry including an ode to his little sister who died young, a series of birthday letters to his absent father, and a message about his mother’s fears for his safety.

"Moving Through Disruptions" 

Leake’s drive to heal and connect through poetry make him an ideal speaker for this year’s conference, which is themed “Moving Through Disruptions.” The conference website invites participants to “take this time together to restore, reconnect, and reconstruct our world. We all are being called upon as leaders to find opportunities within the disruption to create a more just and humane path forward.” Sample sessions include “Challenging Diversity in the Age of Anti-Racism,” “Relying on Emotional Intelligence in Uncertain Times,” and “How to connect when you’re stuck at home.” 

The virtual will take place over three days, from Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon, to make the conference accessible to international students. “It’s a perfect way for students to connect and engage with students they might not normally be in contact with,” said director Christie Navarro. 

Registration for Students and the UC Davis Community

The conference is free to UC Davis students. The UC Davis community is welcome to attend the keynote sessions with Brandon Leake, Gabriela Fresquez, and Vernon Wall.

Registration is required. View calendar links below for details.