The idea took shape between two people who shared a name — and not much else. Fr. Tadros Hirmina was completing his PhD in leadership. Ray Tadros was leading at NCR in Atlanta. (No relation — the surname is a coincidence we joke about often.)
They wanted to take what they had learned about leadership and apply it through a Christian lens. With the support and vision of H.E. Metropolitan Youssef of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern U.S., the LEAD Program was established.
The first class met in 2012 as a three-year curriculum. After listening carefully to students and faculty, we restructured to a focused two-year program in 2019 — the format we teach today.
The texts have shifted occasionally over the years, but the core remains: Maxwell, Stanley, and a small set of others read closely, written about thoughtfully, and applied immediately.
