Season 9 Episode #3 Immigrant Resilience, Education Reform, and Leadership with Dr. Nelva Lee

How does immigration shape leadership?

In this episode of The Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast™, host Jebeh Edmunds sits down with entrepreneur, educator, and author Dr. Nelva Lee to explore the intersection of immigration, education reform, diversity, and leadership.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Growing up in Panama and immigrating to the United States
• Why education systems must adapt to meet students’ needs
• The role of language access in healthcare and justice systems
• Workplace diversity and inclusive leadership
• Personal responsibility and resilience in leadership

This episode offers an inspiring conversation about building opportunity across cultures and communities.

Learn more about Dr. Lee's work here: Home | Nelva Lee

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:27

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast, the show where we explore culture, leadership, education, and the stories shaping our communities. I'm your host, Jebba Edmonds, educator, cultural competency consultant, and creator of multicultural curriculum resources for educators around the country. And today's guest brings a unique perspective that connects immigration, leadership, education, entrepreneurship, and public service. So joining us today is Dr. Nelva Lee, an educator, entrepreneur, author, and community leader. She has founded multiple educational companies, including Interpret AI, and she has more than 20 years experience in healthcare and over a decade of experience in academia as an adjunct professor. She's also served in public leadership roles, including an appointment to the Georgia Department of Community Health and running for state office. Her work explores issues such as immigrant identity, education reform, workforce diversity, and leadership development. Dr. Lee, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. Let's talk more about your background. You emigrated to the states from Panama as a teenager. This is so neat to hear. You know, another fellow immigrant, I came originally from Liberia. And um, I just wanted to have you share with our audience what experiences that shaped your perspective on opportunity and education here.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Yay. Thank you. Great question. So I immigrated uh due to the Noriega dictatorship. So a lot of people uh may have may remember back in the day, Noriega uh became a dictator, and uh all of us basically lost all of our freedoms overnight. And uh anyone that could send their children away. And so that's basically what happened in my situation. Uh, but I can tell you, I was a teenager at the time, and all of those experiences were very um impactful, right? They really did have a huge impact in how I how I viewed democracy and opportunity. And so when I came to the US, I became very in tuned with the freedoms that we have here and and uh very grateful for them, but also wanting to make sure that we protected them. And so I became an advocate from very early on. And I honestly thought I was gonna go straight into politics from high school because I was so involved, you know, with with the just the political, you know, um the the times, the times that we were living in, and just wanting to to have a voice and have a say. And I find that uh oftentimes we take that for granted, right? Uh, but those of us that have had those experiences are much more aware of what can be lost and how quickly it can be lost. So we don't want to take those things for granted. And so wanting to just stay very involved, and uh so I've I've been a member of lots of different boards throughout the years. Uh as you mentioned, I I've been an entrepreneur, uh, started my own vocational school, and uh just really have stayed very connected to the community and advocacy throughout those years.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

I love that, Nelva, and also how you just shared about how quickly things can change, you know, especially democracy. And as a teenager, that resonated with you in your core memory of knowing what was lost so quickly and how we do take things for granted and not being able to speak up and advocate and joining your community in the grassroots of attending and being on boards, like that is so important, you know, to share. Oh, thank you. And I can't wait to talk more about your identity, your leadership journey. And so let's get into that. You said you wanted to be going to politics after high school. And what made you, you know, go into that leadership self of you, you know, going right further out of into adulthood? Yes. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Well, you know, I realized very early on that I had a lot of leadership skills. I remember being the president of my French club very early on. I think I was a freshman and I was elected the first, yeah, the president. I thought, wow, there's there's these upperclassmen that are following my lead, you know, and uh if I realized I just had natural leadership skills. And uh, and and I believe in leaning into your talents. And as I as I mentioned, I've just been a natural advocate as well. And so I it just really comes naturally, I believe, the being in part of policy and uh being a public servant. Now, as far as uh my leadership ability or my leadership style, I have really honed that through the years. So my doctorate is in healthcare administration, and actually my bachelor's and master's are as well. And so I've been in in healthcare uh administration and organization for many years, over 30 years. And starting my own business, you know, obviously as CEO, you're the head on Joe of your company. And so I have had all these years of really just being able to hone my leadership skill and my leadership style.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Love that. And as in yes, especially with your work and background in healthcare administration, you saw this opportunity. And I love this of while you've advocated, you know, of the educational system and you wanted literacy programs and trade certifications for students. And you know, Dr. Lee, I do my research. I'm like, yes, you speak in my language. I'm a former classroom teacher. And not everybody's path outside of high school leads to the traditional institution of a four-year degree. Can you share with us your belief in the vocational school that you started and and what led you to looking at what was um not, I don't want to say missing, but what wasn't getting as much attention to that four-year degree of showing other students the other pathways to success.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

So here's a startling statistic, right? Yeah, well, uh right now, over 60% of first-time homeowners are in their 40s. Okay. And the number one reason for that is college debt. So college debt is not the end all and be all that we were led to believe. And we all know this because you know, college tuition has outpaced inflation, right? Back in the 1980s, a pill grant could cover over 70% of your college tuition, now barely scratches the surface. Now, that being said, everyone is realizing that college is not the answer for everyone. Yes, if you're gonna be a doctor, a lawyer, please go to college, right? But it's not the answer for everyone. And so what I believe that we need to do is we need to equip every high school student with a trade certificate. We have them for this period of time. Let's not waste their time. Make sure that they are fully uh ready, workforce ready the day that they leave high school. Okay. Here in the state of Georgia, we have dual enrollment credits that students can get. Up to 30 credits that's paid for by the state. I say reallocate those uh those uh dual enrollment credits towards a trade certificate. And the reason for this, and that is everyone, regardless of whether or not they're college bound. I got a trade certificate the senior, uh the somewhere between my junior and senior year in high school because I wanted to go into healthcare. And so I got a trade certificate in healthcare because I wanted to pay my way through school as well. And it worked. I paid my way through school, but I also received experience. So when I graduated college, I not only had a degree, but I also had experience, which allowed me to get a really good paying job because it was sort of like a built-in internship. So I highly recommend everybody obtain a trade certificate before leaving college, a high school, rather. And for those that are not college bound, it is a game changer because now they're they're workforce ready and they're confident in their ability to be able to provide for themselves and have an actual career and not just job, job, job from job to job, right? And so this is what we need to give our kids a true uh a true first uh step in their in into their adulthood.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

I love that. And even how you say debt has been so, you know, surmountable for kids, especially going into academia and with that trade certificate, they come out a step ahead, most likely debt-free and ready to start their life. And like you said, it's more of a um a footing for them to feel that foundational skill. Like you said, it's like a free internship. You're in the workforce setting, you're understanding how to work with colleagues and and and problem solve all right there before you get out and get your high school diploma. And and that is so valuable. Um, and that's just amazing. Can you talk more about um, I love what you you did about um the medical and legal interpreting, you know, training institute. Um, and and give us, you know, um some background about that and how language access and healthcare and legal systems literally impact so many of our immigrant families and communities. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

So I started the uh the medical interpreting and translating institute um basically because I needed it. Okay. I was uh director of patient advocacy at the Grady Health System. Grady is a large public hospital in the state of Georgia. It's one of the largest public hospitals, actually, in the Southeast. And we, uh in that department, we had interpreting services. And we were tasked with ensuring that we were following the civil rights laws by making sure that all of our interpreters were training qualified. And it was very difficult. This was back in the early 2000s, to have a training program in the state of Georgia. There were programs, you know, in California and Washington State and even Boston, but none in Georgia specifically. So we had to fly someone in to train our interpreters. And once we got through that process, I went up to my CEO and I'm like, we need to have a training program. Georgia, why don't we start our own? He passed on the idea, but I kept, you know, kept it going and started my own program. And for 20 years, I ran that program and I saw countless of individuals earn their pride and their purpose uh through that program. Now, here's the here's the fallacy it that it's only needed for immigrant families. I can tell you that there are tons of people in the US who are limited English proficient that have or have been here forever. You know, um, and so it's not just an immigrant issue. It is just a reality that you can function just fine in society. But when it comes to your health or legal issues, you want to be able to fully communicate with your doctor and your lawyer. And because on top of that, you have this medical jargon or this legal jargon that's confusing even to uh to the normal person, right? Yeah, and so if you add on top of that uh any type of language barrier, limited English proficiency, uh, you are gonna have difficulty. And so you need an interpreter to really be able to understand your doctor and vice versa, right? Because so many doctors, if they can't understand you, they're gonna just throw all kinds of diagnosis at you, which is further um exacerbates the cost of healthcare, right? Yeah. Because you're gonna they're gonna just say, well, let's diagnose with this and all these tests that you need to take just because you didn't understand your patient. And so uh it's very important to have that uh that that uh ability to have a trained and qualified interpreter.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yes. Oh, I I really love that. And thank you for sharing that it's not just one subset group, it's also others that have that um, you know, English language, you know, like um not proficient in that too. And and you're right, it can also feel very overwhelming and nerve-wracking when you are with a practitioner or with a lawyer. And if you don't understand the jargon, like you said, or the language or the contract, a lot of things can go awry. Thank you for touching on that as well. Very, very nice. Um, you've also done significant work in diversity and inclusion consulting. And um, I love that you say that it's not simply about quotas, but also about creating cultures where people truly have a voice and opportunity. Um, what does authentic inclusion look like inside organizations today if they're doing it the right way?

SPEAKER_01 14:01

You know, I was I was gonna preface that and say that, you know, DEI, the way that it was unfortunately um practiced in the last few years, was kind of like an anomaly. You know, it wasn't really uh about inclusion, it was just about uh, you know, culture wars, to be honest with you. Uh but the way that I look at it is um we all come from different cultures, every last one of us, whether it's a um religious culture, whether it's a different culture, uh you have uh whether it's race, uh, you name it. You know, it doesn't have to be culture from another country. So we uh we're always interfacing with people of different cultures all the time. And the and all I all of my training was was in in in helping employers create uh an environment where that was celebrated, and where that was uh not only celebrated, but where we could find strength in that because oftentimes there is strength in in that in diversity. And so that is that's really the the core message of my consulting.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Love that, love that, and finding the strength because everybody has something valuable to bring to the table. To the table. Yes. Oh, I love that. And oh, I can't wait to get your book. You've written books about personal growth and leadership, including this title, Be the Superhero of Your Story. And I'm telling you, I'm already a fan of you, you know, leaving, you know, Panama during a hostile takeover. And how can you share more about your story, about be the superhero of your story? Because um, you know, I just love that. Yeah, share more about that, please. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

So I wrote that in response to a lot of the uh young people that I saw during the COVID uh that had a lot of anxiety and depression. And we know that in the aftermath of COVID, we had increased suicides, increased um drug addiction and alcohol addiction and uh just depression and anxiety, all of it just went you know skyrocketed. And I believe that what's lacking is resilience in C training, right? And realizing that every trial that we go through is actually a gift, right? Uh and being able to have that different perspective in that, you know, when I'm facing a trial, this is my opportunity to show my gifts, my talents, my strengths, right? Every superhero, you know, see their superpowers unless they have a major problem that they have to fix, right? And so that's the same thing with us. When we are faced with a challenge, look at it as an opportunity uh to dig deep and to find those gifts that uh that you know are in there, but the worst of the world needs to have an opportunity to see as well.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Oh, I love that. And we'll have uh everyone, your details and everything of how we can get a copy of that book in the show notes. Oh my gosh. And one more thing before we go, what advice do you give to people navigating difficult circumstances who still want to lead meaningful lives?

SPEAKER_01 17:16

I would say start off with having uh purpose and having your priorities straight. So two uh two books that I absolutely love. Uh the first one is The Purpose Given Life by Rick Warren. Okay, especially the 40-day workbook that accompanies that because he really helps helps you kind of dig deep into your talents, your strengths, what are you passionate about, and helping you really figure out what am I here for? What am I here on this earth for? What is my purpose? Uh and the second one I think is a companion book to that, and that is uh Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And I love that book because it really helps you to prioritize, prioritize your life, prioritize your day. And I think that is really missing right now. People don't prioritize their day, they just kind of go from one crisis to the next to the next, and that is a true way to waste your time. So if you really want to maximize the 24-7 that you have, you have to have priorities. And that book really helps you to really hone in on what is a priority versus what isn't. And so if you get those two books, you can definitely have a sense of direction in your life and get some actual wins in your life.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Yes. Yes. And and it's tangible enough, and you know, that you can see the progress that you are making as you go. Oh, that is so good. And I and I love that too when you talked about resiliency. You know, after COVID, a lot of us were like, okay, dust yourself off and move on. But so many of us were so isolated and we didn't have our community, our village to keep us moving forward. And I love how you really talked about resiliency because when you do rise to the occasion, you see strengths in you that you never knew existed or never knew you had, but you really went for it and go, Oh, this thing did work. Oh, okay. I can make this happen, you know, I can create something, you know. Oh my goodness, this is wonderful. Before we close out, Dr. Lee, where can my listeners and viewers find your amazing work? And thank you so much for, you know, having avenues for all of our students to find their pathway to success. So, where can we find your amazing work?

SPEAKER_01 19:39

First of all, thank you for having me on. I really enjoy this conversation. Uh, so you can find me at drnelkbully.com. That's D-R-N-E-L-B-A-L-E-E.com. I have my books there. I have my social media handles, uh, my podcast interviews, platform speeches, everything is on there. So yes, please, please connect.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

Awesome. Thank you so much. I also enjoyed our conversation and just so proud of the work you're doing. And I can't wait for our listeners to find you and go along this journey with you as well. Because all of our kids deserve to be successful in their own true way. Um, so thank you, Dr. Lee, for sharing your story with us and your perspective on leadership, education, and opportunity. And um, if you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to the Culture Curriculum Chat podcast and share this episode with a friend who needs that boost up and finding their own superhero story within. Thank you, Dr. Lee. And I'll see you all here same time next week. Bye bye.