Dean Fusto: Youth Leadership, Scholarship, and Service

by Jeff Bond

Jeff Bond is the CEO of Chat With Leaders Media and an Executive Partner at the People-First Elevation Team. He specializes in business content and event experience design, focusing on developing growth strategies that enhance customer and employee success. His team produces engaging podcasts and events, both online and in person, that help organizations build relationships and trust with their essential stakeholders. As a podcast host and trusted advisor, Jeff implements collaborative and fun strategies for sustainable business growth and human-centric connection. Off the clock, Jeff is a devoted husband and father of 3 kiddos based in Atlanta, GA.

Dean J. Fusto is a 2020 recipient of the Klingenstein Fellowship at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the President and Head of Brandon Hall School, an international boarding and day school serving students in grades 6-12. His career spans nearly three decades as an educational leader. He founded the teachlearnlead.net community in 2014 as a tribute to his heroes and heroines: teachers. This comprehensive site is an online edu-library that has grown in reach and built a global audience of teachers and school leaders seeking professional development and access to the latest educational research. Dean is a past recipient of a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship and an EE Ford Fellowship. As a thought leader and influencer, he has published 5 books, dozens of articles and holds a M.A.T. from the SIT Graduate Institute, an M.A. from Columbia University, and Proactive Leadership certification from Cornell University. He has founded and designed numerous experiential, service-learning trips for thousands of students and teachers. In 2017, out of his passion for inspiring youth leadership, he founded the Center for Global Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurial Studies at Brandon Hall School. In 2020, he established the Therese A. Fusto microgrants to fund social and community impact projects.

Discussion Topics

Why did becoming an educational leader resonate with you when first started this career journey nearly three decades ago?
As you progressed in your experience, what were some of the greatest problems you saw as an area of opportunity for change in youth education?
How did you arrive at Leadership, Scholarship, and Service as the three-pronged focus of your mission at Brandon Hall School?
Given all the complicated societal + environmental issues we’ve been facing, what’s been your greatest area of focus when it comes to shepherding your team to equip and prepare students for these “real world” challenges?
Fast forward to retirement, what do you most hope to have accomplished?

Follow/Get In Touch

Our Community Partners

B Local GA: A collection of for-profit companies each dedicated to creating a future where businesses operate as a positive influence on society.
InspirEDU: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks to support education equity with its commitment to youth and their families, through training, device distribution, and technology career development.
AppBarry: An Atlanta-based software engineering team specializing in building custom web and mobile applications, cloud migrations, and software integrations.
Classic City Consulting: An Atlanta-based WordPress design + development, content writing, and SEO consulting firm.
Stratfield Consulting: Helping organizations successfully adapt to a rapidly changing landscape with an approach that integrates proven consulting, staffing, and recruiting services.