Paul Schmitz, chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Public Allies and author of the new book “Everyone Leads: Building Leadership from the Community Up,” believes there is untapped leadership throughout communities.
In the book, Schmitz candidly shares his own story as a juvenile delinquent who was kicked out of grade school, treated for drug addiction, and barely made it out of high school, but rose to become a major nonprofit leader, social entrepreneur and presidential advisor.
He also shares the stories of others, including Peter Hoeffel, a deli worker who now runs a disability rights organization; Bizunesh Talbott, a single mom in community college who now works in the White House; and Frank Alvarez, a former gang member turned leader of a program to help young people like himself gain education and a path to meaningful employment.
The book outlines why the country needs to re-imagine the concept of leadership and why lasting social change must come from the bottom up in any organization. The book is available on Amazon.com for $20.99.
