Page 10 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows
P. 10
PREFACE
Imagine an awestruck young African American man entering the Oval
Office for the first time to meet the president of the United States. The
year was 1965, and that young man was Ron Lee, one of 15 Americans
selected for a groundbreaking yearlong leadership development program
called the White House Fellowships.
After shaking Lee’s hand and inviting him to take a seat, President Lyn-
don Johnson asked him with whom he would like to work during his Fel-
lowship year in Washington. Lee gave his answer without a moment’s
hesitation: he wanted to work with Larry O’Brien. A legendary force in
Democratic politics, O’Brien had been the organizational genius behind
John F. Kennedy’s two successful U.S. Senate races in Massachusetts in the
1950s and also his 1960 campaign for the presidency. He had orchestrated
Lyndon Johnson’s landslide victory in 1964, and as President Johnson’s con-
gressional liaison, he had served as the architect of the Great Society leg-
islation designed to eliminate racial injustice and poverty in America.
Everyone in Washington was aware of O’Brien’s influence. Since Lee
believed the Great Society legislation was the most important thing hap-
pening in the country at the time, he couldn’t imagine being matched with
a more outstanding mentor than Larry O’Brien.
Upon hearing Lee’s choice, the president picked up the phone, sum-
moned O’Brien to the Oval Office and introduced him to his eager new
apprentice. The trajectory of Ron Lee’s life changed forever. With guid-
ance from his skillful and caring mentor, Lee began a whirlwind career
journey that took him just three years later beyond the limits of his
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