JASON D. LEE:
 




 
 
 
 
 
Executive Director, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), an organization founded in 1976 by Detroit educator Kenneth Hill to increase the number of historically under-represented minority students - African American, Hispanic and Native American - who are motivated and prepared academically to pursue careers in engineering, science, and mathematics related fields. Lee manages the day-to-day operations of the organization, acquires the funding needed to operate the organization, executes the directives of DAPCEP’s board, and maintains and develops relationships with corporate, community, and university partners.


WHERE BORN: Silver Spring, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: “My father for teaching me to work hard. My mother for exposing me to everything she could – I was in sports, I was in music, I was in 4-H, I was in everything under the sun in terms of community programming for kids.”

LAST BOOK READ: “The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It talks about how events start out slow and there’s one point where things start picking up at a brisk pace. You can argue that the hurricanes in the south are a tipping point. They are going to change the world as we know it.”

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: “Energetic. Personable. Outgoing, the person you call to get the job done.

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: “Financial constraints are forcing non-profit organizations to operate more like businesses. A program’s success will be directly proportional with its ability to adapt to the landscape around it.”

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: “I recently purchased a Pocket PC with Wi-Fi built in that’s pretty cool. I can’t live without my cell phone. I can’t wait to see what the Sony PlayStation III looks like.”

FAVORITE PLACE: “My wife and I enjoy Toronto for a quick getaway.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Mountain biking.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “Crab Imperial.”

MY HIDDEN TALENT: “I don’t know if I really have one.”

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: “As a good father, a loving husband and a pillar in the community.”

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.