Head Coach to Head Coach

Written by Jamie Spatola
From Duke Blue Planet, February 2008

Head Coach to Head Coach: Why Marleah Rogers is the Ideal Leader for the Dream-Do-Achieve Team

Because She Shares the DREAM
In January 2005, Marleah Rogers left a high-paying consulting job in order to offer sixth months of her time to an idea – but what she thought to be a very good one. Now, three years later, she serves as CEO of the nonprofit Emily Krzyzewski Center. The idea has become a vibrant reality and Marleah serves as the head coach of the talented and dedicated team that helps make dreams come true on a daily basis in the life of a growing nonprofit organization and in the lives of the kids that make all the effort worthwhile.

Marleah Rogers, her father Colonel (R) Tom Rogers and family had been longtime friends with the Krzyzewski family dating back from the Colonel’s time as an Officer Representative for the Army Basketball team when Coach K was a cadet. The two families had formed a tremendous bond over the decades and had experienced much of life’s ups and downs together. So, when Colonel and Marleah Rogers heard of the Emily K idea, they immediately wanted to invest. As they learned more, Marleah came to the realization that she could invest much more than cash into the organization. Seeing a need for a long-term strategy and business plan, she knew that she could lend her expertise from a long and successful career in both the consulting and the corporate world to help get the idea off the ground.

Her extensive experience aside, Marleah will tell you that there was one foundational element that made the subsequent building of the Center possible: “instant trust.” In this instance, the trust was a matter of serendipity, a fortuitous situation resulting from years of essentially familial friendship. But both Coach K and Marleah will tell you that instant trust is vital to getting anything done as a team; it is what allows you to get straight to the heart of the matter. And both leaders will tell you that the way to build this within a group is through consistent and honest communication, “…not just communicate to communicate,” Marleah clarifies, “but to communicate for alignment, action and results.”

Because Marleah immediately trusted that Coach K and family were going to be committed to the Center for the long haul and that their motives were pure, she did not have to waste any time – she could get right to business.

Because She Inspires Others to DO
And get right to business she did. As the head coach, it was her responsibility to turn the vision into a clear plan of action and assemble the right team to achieve it. Every team needs a game plan. For the Emily K Center, this required the formation of both a business plan and the establishment of a strong culture. After three years on the job, Marleah is quick to remind people that goals and measurements of success must be frequently changed and updated, but culture is consistent. There now exists an “Emily K Way” – embedded in the concept of the Dream-Do-Achieve pathway and devoted to establishing a successful and replicable way of getting the most out of youngsters by instilling high expectations for academics, character and leadership development. Their goal is for their students to graduate from college and excel in their career of choice.

Marleah is masterful at identifying talent and cultivating relationships. As a result, she has brought together and continues to bring together experienced, committed, and professional individuals and corporations willing to give of themselves to be a part of the great things taking place at the Emily K Center.

Another part of her philosophy of leadership that mirrors that of Coach K is the focus on allowing individuals within the team to be leaders too, to exercise creativity, and to essentially be themselves. “I love when my team surprises me,” Marleah says. “It shows that you are truly leading because you are empowering others to achieve without you.” In this type of environment, the leader, too, is operating for the benefit of the team’s shared goals not for the benefit of his or herself. As a result of this leadership style, the rest of the staff at the Emily K Center feels a sense of ownership of the place, the cause, and the success of each child.

Because She and Her Team Have ACHIEVED
The success of the Emily K Center can be seen in many ways. You can look at independent evaluations of results after one year which indicated significant success in closing the achievement gap between the students and their peers across all income groups nationally. You can talk to representatives from some of the organizations that have offered their pro-bono corporate support who say that the Emily K Center is an extraordinarily well-managed nonprofit organization. Or you can simply talk to one of the scholars who spend their afternoons working, laughing, and dreaming at the Center. Through any of these means, you would discover that much has been achieved at the Emily K.

But Coach K and Marleah Rogers share yet another thing in common as leaders: they are never satisfied. There is so much more to achieve. When asked what has kept her around at the Emily K beyond her originally promised six months, Marleah answered, “Because of the impact we are having and the impact we can have.” There is still much that the Emily K Center will do in Durham. There are more talented kids to help through school, more generations to send to college, more committed families that deserve a chance. But her vision does not stop there. The Emily K Center can provide a replicable model for other cities seeking to radically change the educational achievement of low-income students.

Emily Krzyzewski Center staff and volunteers work every day to ensure that youngsters embrace the DDA pathway to excellence, but it is the Center itself that serves as the ultimate example of Dream-Do-Achieve. Marleah Rogers is the head coach of the team that has made it happen.

Return to News & Events