Name: Lennie Cox
Leadership Charlotte (LC) Class: 23
Title/Company: Retired (Sales, National Account Manager for HBC Company)
Hometown: Odessa, Texas
Education:University of Texas at Austin
As you reflect on the 25 years since your Leadership Charlotte experience, how have you seen Charlotte evolve, and how has it helped shape the way you engage with our community?
Charlotte has exploded since the early 2000’s. Our cultural, sports, culinary, banking, healthcare, tech, and housing sectors have all grown in ways I could not have imagined when I went through Leadership Charlotte. Yet with this incredible surge in development, people have been left in its wake, many of whom have no safe place to call home. Affordable housing and caring for the homeless were important to me in 2002 and continue to be important to me now. Today there are more ways than ever to help our neighbors in need, and Charlotte’s growth has given me a new sense of urgency to become more involved.
What advice would you give to incoming Leadership Charlotte participants about getting the most out of the experience?
My goals are to be present to people experiencing homelessness, to bring awareness to their circumstances, and to encourage city and county-wide collaboration in order to capitalize on Charlotte’s generosity, which too often stays siloed, so that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-reoccurring.
What’s your best advice for current Leadership Charlotte participants about making the most of the experience?
Stay connected to Leadership Charlotte. My own connection has ebbed and flowed over 25 years depending on what was happening in my life. As an empty nester, I’ve been fortunate to be able to reengage these last few years. I’ve learned so much through alumni events, but more importantly, I’ve gotten to meet and talk with so many of you. We are an eclectic mix of people, and we have interesting, inspiring, and difficult conversations in a safe space that encourages thoughtfulness, respect, and growth. Don’t lose that!
What’s one lesson or moment from your Leadership Charlotte experience that still sticks with you today, and why?
Intentionality. Charlotte offers so many wonderful and critical ways to get involved, and Leadership Charlotte taught me to be thoughtful about which opportunities were the right fit for me and my family in each season of life. Choosing carefully has allowed me to use my time and skills where they can be most helpful. It has also given me the chance to model servant leadership for my children and to share meaningful experiences serving together.
In what ways do you stay engaged in the Charlotte community, and how could fellow alumni join you?
I offer support to the incarcerated through jail ministry and have found that many of the women I have met were homeless. For the last two years I have participated in the annual Point-in-Time Count, which identifies the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte on one given night. The information that is gathered is also shared with HUD to secure funding for homeless response services. Additionally, I joined the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care to better understand the state of homelessness in our city/county and serve on the Ranking Committee which makes funding recommendations to HUD. I have initiated ongoing conversations with Leadership Charlotte, the CoC, and local foundations about the opportunity to educate Charlotteans on how and why homelessness occurs and the proven ways to move people from homelessness into housing, as captured in the documentary Beyond the Bridge. The one thing I’d invite fellow alumni to do is volunteer for the Point-in-Time Count. It happens one night in late January, and sign-ups begin in mid-November through the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Dashboard. It’s a powerful way to see our city through different eyes.
What’s your favorite way to recharge or connect with Charlotte on the weekend?
My favorite ways to recharge on the weekends are playing pickleball with my husband and friends in our neighborhood, and meeting our son for dinner in Southend.
Shout out a local nonprofit or initiative making a difference — what do they do, and why does their mission speak to you?
I want to give a shout out to two organizations I don’t know well, but that serve a critical need in our city. Young adults ages 18 to 24 are too old for many youth services, yet adult housing programs are rarely designed to meet their needs. LGBTQ+ young adults face an even higher risk of housing instability. The Relatives and Time Out Youth provide resources and support for our vulnerable youth population. I encourage you to join me in learning more about youth homelessness in Charlotte and the important work these two organizations are doing.
I support Leadership Charlotte because…
It brings together people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives who share a common desire to care for one another and strengthen our community. It connects generations of leaders who have shaped Charlotte’s past and will continue to shape its future.
What’s one book, quote, or podcast that’s inspired your leadership lately?
In the late 1990s, I heard Sharon Decker, the youngest and first female vice president in Duke Power’s history, tell a group of young women that life isn’t about juggling; it’s a matter of sequencing. That advice still shapes how I lead today. Rather than trying to do everything at once, I focus my time and leadership where I can be most effective in this season of life.