Lemuel ‘Life’ LaRoche, Founder and Executive Director of Chess and Community

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With over fifteen years of experience in youth and community development, Lemuel LaRoche, MSW, is the founder and executive director of Chess and Community Conference Inc., a nonprofit youth empowerment organization dedicated to developing strategic thinkers and leaders. This dynamic speaker, poet, author and grassroots community leader is the subject of Life the Griot (2014), a documentary highlighting the work he has accomplished in Athens, Georgia, and the surrounding areas. LaRoche has presented at TEDxUGA, an independently organized TEDTalks event, and his organization was recently featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s On Second Thought. He is an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia and has written two books, Tree of Life: The Human Ascension and Hidden Ripples: Life’s Unspoken Language. Learn more about Lemuel LaRoche and his organization at www.lemuellaroche.com and www.chessandcommunity.org.