News and Insights

How to become e pluribus unum

June 1, 2023

By Michael Cooper We call ourselves the United States of America, but we’re anything but united these days. The divisions aren’t about the issues. Instead, we’re sorting ourselves by culture, education level, negative partisanship, and the choice to associate only with those whom we agree with. That’s not healthy for our democracy or sustainable. But we […]

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Op-Ed | Trapped: A surge in domestic violence amid COVID-19 exposes dangerous gaps in justice system

June 29, 2020 | Lucy Lang (‘17)

“Survivors and their children will long carry the scars of this pandemic, of quarantine, and of the disparities it has highlighted. It’s up to all of us to help them.” – Class of 2017’s Lucy Lang. Read more from Lucy via AMNY: https://www.amny.com/opinion/op-ed-trapped-a-surge-in-domestic-violence-amid-covid-19-exposes-dangerous-gaps-in-justice-system/?fbclid=IwAR30KmAKmJ-yylJWSxa5-ryDd6vCtZas6dBlwklreFi_C3a7zvgquCFXtVA

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Jamila Thomas: The Impact of History, Education, and Mentoring

June 29, 2020 | Jamila Thomas (‘19)

Recently, Dallas Doing Good spotlighted Class of 2019’s Jamila Thomas. Read more: https://www.dallasdoinggood.com/doing-good/jamila-thomas-the-impact-of-history-education-and-mentoring?fbclid=IwAR2pAkHs_nwDxeO6U7R5aVZ93zAv5wlU-5j1FT8XyLxBwXs6xhDiZNkiYwI

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News

We ask if people are for or against the riots while suffocating the real question: Why are we burning?

June 29, 2020 | Chequan Lewis (‘18)

Born of fire, America burns again. But America has always burned; survival requires a clear reflection. Read more from Class of 2018’s Chequan Lews in the Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/06/07/we-ask-if-people-are-for-or-against-the-riots-while-suffocating-the-real-question-why-are-we-burning/?fbclid=IwAR2JidZJ0dO-37zbKHIO2zRb8k-kRKPDfvACINcTfTcWbaC3omPNzKtQurk

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Dallas and America’s History of Violence

June 29, 2020 | Byron Sanders (‘17)

“Putting this weekend in perspective, we see violence in every juncture of major social change. What will we do with what that tells us?” Read more from Class of 2019’s Byron Sanders in D Magazine: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2020/06/dallas-and-americas-history-of-violence/

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Asha Varghese, Caterpillar Foundation

June 29, 2020 | Asha Varghese (‘18)

Class of 2018’s Asha Varghese recently spoke to Women to Watch with Sue Rocco about her role as President of the Caterpillar Foundation and how PLS helped her become the leader she wanted to be. Listen now: https://women2watch.net/asha-varghese/

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Dallas cannot achieve equity until we face the truth

June 29, 2020 | Byron Sanders (‘17)

For so many young people, real barriers exist, ones neither of their creation nor justified in a land of presupposed opportunity. Read more from Class of 2019’s Byron Sanders in the Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/12/13/dallas-cannot-achieve-equity-until-we-face-the-truth/

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Perspectives on Systematic Racism

June 23, 2020

Presidential Leadership Scholars are lending their voices to provide perspective on the systemic racism in this country and share thoughts towards progress.

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Statements by President George W. Bush and President William J. Clinton

June 3, 2020

Statement by President George W. Bush: https://www.bushcenter.org/about-the-center/newsroom/press-releases/2020/06/statement-by-president-george-w-bush.html Statement by President William J. Clinton: https://www.clintonfoundation.org/press-releases/statement-president-bill-clinton-death-george-floyd

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Notes from the Field: Sunny Jha

May 22, 2020

Over the past several months, we have learned much about ourselves at a tremendous cost. As an anesthesiologist at an academic medical center in Los Angeles, I saw the emerging COVID-19 pandemic as a 9/11 type event for our medical community that would require a prolonged battle against an invisible enemy. As a 2018 Presidential […]

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Notes from the Field: Judge Scott Schlegel

May 18, 2020

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Presidential Leadership Scholar Judge Scott Schlegel rapidly scaled his existing tech-stack so that court cases could continue in Louisiana by conducting hearings via Zoom and developed a text-based Chatbot for specialty court probationers. When courthouses shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a unique challenge occurred. Courts around the globe had […]

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