Developing tomorrow's leaders...

Some people thought the Lee children didn’t need SEI, but Michelle Lee Brazile would tell them it wasn’t just the basketball camps she and her siblings excelled in, it was also SEI’s family atmosphere and leadership training that made a difference to her.

After college and the birth of her first child, Michelle didn’t hesitate to say yes when her former SEI coach called and asked her to apply for a position with SEI. Michelle immediately knew she wanted to return to the organization she describes as, “a place of second chances- and sometimes even first opportunities. I wanted to push the kids to be the very best they could be.”

Michelle spent over three years building relationships with SEI’s elementary students and their families. Many of those children now attend SEI Academy charter middle school. She’s proud of them and they remember their years with her fondly.

Today when you see Michelle flash her infectious smile, it’s hard to imagine the balancing act she performs each day as she maneuvers between her job teaching Spanish and Basic Employment Readiness at the Youth Employment Institute, studying for her master’s degree, ferrying her four children to three schools, and cheering for the wrestlers her husband coaches at Jefferson High School.

“Self Enhancement taught me my OWN self enhancement—as all the things that I am: an employee, a friend, a teacher, a mentor, a mom and a wife.”

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