Dominique D. Lee is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Building Resilient Intelligent Creative Kids (BRICK) Network, a multi-generation nonprofit that builds place-based networks of support to move families into lasting economic mobility. After beginning his career in Newark as a Teach For America corps member, Lee launched BRICK in 2010 to knit excellent neighborhood schools together with housing, health, and workforce pathways—creating a comprehensive, pre-cradle-to-career ecosystem that helps children and families forge futures abundant with opportunity, wellness, and joy.
Lee’s holistic approach has been profiled on the front page of The New York Times (2010), highlighted in Dale Rusakoff’s New York Times bestseller The Prize, and earned him a place on TheGrio’s “100 History Makers in the Making” (2011).
His accolades include the Leaders & Legends Award for Outstanding Achievement in Early Childhood Education, the Russ Berrie “Making a Difference” Award, the Community Foundation of New Jersey’s Young Changemakers Award, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ Charter School Leadership Award (2019).
A Pahara-Aspen Fellow, Lee serves on the board of LEAD Charter School, Jersey City Medical Center and Freedom Rising while steering BRICK’s continued expansion across New Jersey and New York. He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in education leadership from New York University, and he resides in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his partner.