LaLeesha Hicks
LaLeesha
Hicks
Adjunct Professor, OLM
- Department
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Department of Community Psychology and Leadership
- Institution
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Pacific Oaks College
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Address
- 45 W Eureka Street
- Pasadena, CA 91103
- Biography
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Lee Hicks is a business leader, consultant, volunteer, workshop leader, and educator. She believes there is a firm crossroads between business agility and psychology. Backed with an educational foundation that has room to grow. She has a Master's in Organizational Leadership and Management (with a minor in Non-Profit Management), a Bachelor's in Business Administration, and an Associate's in Psychology. To which Lee plans to further her formalized learning by pursuing a PsyD. With over a decade in the business arena, Lee is a seasoned consultant, startup partner, former Executive Director, and dedicated community volunteer. She brings an expansive wealth of practical experience to her clients as she fortifies and reenvisions businesses, reinforces compliance standards, and conducts leadership training. She firmly believes that leadership is deeply rooted in psychological principles and treats tools such as; communication, ethics, dialogue, and constructive feedback as foundational pillars that can either reinforce or erode an organization's dogma and cultural practices.
As a dedicated facilitator, Lee's goal is to foster equitable learning environments built on a foundation of trust, structured discourse, and student autonomy. Her pedagogical approach blends current industry frameworks. At times debunking historical paradigms in order to teach leadership, change management, compliance, business law, and transformative growth. By helping students connect abstract academic source materials directly to their own lived experiences. Her aim is to empower individuals to uncover their unique voices, navigate personal blind spots, and develop a robust work ethic. She is dedicated to civic engagement, supporting student-driven success, and preparing future professionals to lead with empathy, fair practices, and mental fortitude
- Education History
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Degree Institution Year Master of Science in Leadership and Management University of La Verne, La Verne, CA 2020 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration University of La Verne, La Verne, CA 2017 Associate in Arts in Psychology Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA 2025 - Professional Memberships
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Role Organization Member CalNonprofits Member Public Broadcasting Service Member Classical California (KUSC) - Community Involvement
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Role Organization Volunteer Coordinator Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Volunteer Professional Service Saint Fraincis Home - Areas of Expertise
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Area Expertise Business/IO Psychology Organizational Psychology Diversity & Inclusion Career/Workplace Issues Employee Development, Engagement, Motivation General Expertise Leadership Critical Thinking General Expertise Affirmitive Action Diversity Issues Diversity General Expertise Multicultural Training Racism Leadership General Expertise Non Profit Leadership Organizational Leadership Relational Leadership Steward Leadership Transformational Leadership Psychology Business/IO Psychology Consumer Psychology Positive Psychology Social Psychology - Question and Answer
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Please describe your teaching philosophy. I am a dedicated advocate of active learning and a firm believer in every student’s right to an equitable, inclusive, and fair education. Grounded in a commitment to social justice, I believe students must be deeply engaged in their own learning process, understanding not only what, but why their education connects to their lived experiences. In any discipline, effective leadership, teaching, listening, and engagement go hand-in-hand to drive student retention and success.
I maintain that it is never too late to introduce transformative learning strategies, regardless of a student’s age, socioeconomic background, or culture. Anchoring my practice in Universal Design for Learning. My goal is to design flexible accessible pathways across all modalities to accommodate diverse learning styles and needs. In order to challenge and engage students’ learning ethos, empowering them to become responsible, confident, and effective communicators who facilitate their own future endeavors.
To support this, I cultivate positive learning environments, rooted in freely given and intellectual diversity, preparing students for a multifaceted business world. As an educator who has mentored youths and adults alike in business and volunteered extensively with college students, I actively foster open communication, critical thinking, and respectful discourse. By remaining flexible, relevant in my field, and utilizing emotional intelligence, I reinforce that students have the strategies, dialogue, and support necessary to thrive and succeed.