Leadership

Judd Peters

— Founder & Executive Director

Judd Peters founded and administered the Summer SLAM program at Memphis University School. He served as the chief operating officer, admissions director, principal, teacher, and counselor in this “school-within-a-school” at MUS.

In the fifteen years of the program’s existence over 1,200 Memphis-area, elementary and middle school students representing over fifty schools received the benefits of this academic enrichment and leadership development program. Many students attended for multiple years. The majority of the participants were minority students from public schools who had never been exposed to college preparatory and life skills expectations and experiences. Most of the students returned to their schools as better leaders and better prepared students equipped to make a positive impact in their community, but many enrolled in MUS and other private schools. The students who enrolled at MUS later became wage-earning counselors giving back to the program that helped them.

SLAM Summer Academy makes it a priority that participants strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives: academics, leadership, physical fitness, good citizenship, and community service. The program placed an emphasis on components necessary to develop leadership: public speaking, traits and qualities of a leader, and language arts and writing.

Mr. Peters’ desire to provide similar college preparatory and life skills programming and opportunities to students throughout the community, especially the under-served, motivated him to found Rising Together Foundation.