Stedman Graham is chairman and CEO of S. Graham & Associates. As a businessman, educator and speaker, he presents, consults and conducts training with corporations, educational entities, the military and veterans, nonprofits and the government. His Identity message is grounded in the fact that the key to success is self-leadership capability. The Identity Leadership programs, driven by his proprietary Nine-Step Success Process™, are based on the philosophy that individuals hold the power to their educational, career and personal success or failure.
Graham has authored eleven books, including two New York Times bestsellers, You Can Make It Happen: A Nine-Step Plan for Success and Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps to Success. His latest release is Identity Leadership.
Clients have included the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Vikings, Gulfstream Aerospace, Microsoft, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Lenovo, General Dynamics, the US Departments of Labor, Education and Agriculture, CVS Pharmacy, and the Sonima Foundation (through which he taught in 150 high schools in 2 years). He has also lectured or conducted workshops in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, China, Canada, the UK, the British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bermuda, South Africa, and Africa.
Commitment to education and lifelong learning is central to Graham’s philosophy. He has served as an adjunct professor or guest lecturer at Northwestern, Harvard, Wharton, University of Chicago, the University of Illinois-Chicago, National University, Highpoint, Howard, Temple, Morehouse, UCLA, and Pepperdine to name a few.
As a veteran of the United States Army, he has proudly served our active military, veterans and their families through programs at Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Fort Jackson, NATO, the Military Child Education Coalition, and internationally at Landstuhl, Germany and the US Military Community in Rotterdam, Holland.
A proud native of Whitesboro, New Jersey, Graham has demonstrated an enduring pledge to youth and community. His Teens Can Make It Happen Program has been utilized in numerous middle and high school in the US and abroad, providing positive growth for our leaders of tomorrow, as well as their parents and teachers. With dedication to community development, Graham is the founder of the Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro and Concerned Citizens of Lake Waccamaw, NC and a co-founder of The Community Alliance for Youth Success. He is an ongoing contributor to the Cleveland Foundation Tru2U Project educating youth and their mentors, and to the organization MaDi through which he provides Identity Leadership education to thousands of refugees who are integrating into new communities and cultures.
Graham holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Hardin-Simmons University, a Master’s degree in Education from Ball State University and an honorary doctorate in Humanities from Coker College.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank you for presenting the "You Can Make It Happen" session at our Peoria Marketing Conference. The information you presented was well received by all in attendance. You supplied your audience with comments they can take back to their office and implement into their day-to-day lives. Your presentation was very motivational and right on target. Thank you for a dynamic presentation!"
"You Can Make It Happen" was a great kick-off of the Training and Development Center's Industry Speakers Series. The feedback received has been very positive. I look forward to working with you in the future as we continue to develop training opportunities for our staff."
"The entire Manpower organization, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Greater Research Triangle community thoroughly enjoyed your visit to North Carolina. I am still receiving phone calls and e-mail's complimenting your message with regards to enhancing the quality of life for other people."
"It was a pleasure to participate in the session, as it was lively, well received and set a positive and enthusiastic tone for this new component of the You Can Make It Happen in Job Corps program. Your significant personal commitment, ultimately led to a mix of training, activities and media that clearly resonated with many of the students. The pilot complements the goals and objectives of the Career Development Services System well, providing additional tools and support to our student as they progress towards achieving their personal and professional goals."