About EJ
Our industry is full of brilliant producers
who were never taught how to lead.
I saw it happen enough times that I stopped waiting for someone else to fix it — and built something instead.
The Story Behind The Leadership House
I spent the early decades of my career with my head down, doing the work. Jazz Fest. Country Music Festivals. Essence Music Festival. Presidential Inaugurations. NFL Kickoff. Super Bowl Boulevard. Productions that hundreds of thousands of people showed up for — and that hundreds of professionals poured themselves into making happen.
Somewhere in all of that, I started noticing something that kept me up at night. The most talented producers in our industry — people with real gifts, real instincts, real potential — were hitting a ceiling they couldn’t name. They knew how to work a gig. They didn’t know how to lead a team. They could execute under pressure. They couldn’t navigate a difficult relationship. They were brilliant at systems and logistics. They were struggling with communication, personal wellness, and the kind of leadership that sustains a career — and a life — over the long haul.
Nobody was teaching this. Not in our industry. Not in a way that understood how festivals actually work — the compressed timelines, the “show must go on” culture, the impossible complexity of moving hundreds of people toward one extraordinary moment.
So I became a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach. I started teaching Entertainment & Festival Management at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business — the first instructor to do so. I built a framework rooted in my own faith and practice, grounded in research, and forged in the specific reality of our industry. And I built The Leadership House — because this work deserves better infrastructure than we’ve been giving it.
“The most resilient people in the world are running our festivals. What they deserve is a leadership framework as strong as they are.”
The Framework
The Three Depths Framework™
Depth One
Deep Identity
Know yourself — your strengths, your values, your leadership style. Lead from who you are, not who the pressure demands you be.
Depth Two
Deep Stillness
Sustain yourself — recovery practices and contemplative disciplines that make excellence possible over a lifetime, not just a season.
Depth Three
Deep Agility
Lead effectively — the systems, communication tools, and strategic frameworks that let you move fast without leaving your people behind.
The Work Behind The Work
- Coordinating Producer, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Festival Productions, Inc. — New Orleans
- Billboard 2024 Touring Power Player Recognition · Festival Productions, Inc.
- Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach Credential
- Adjunct Professor, Entertainment & Festival Management Tulane University Freeman School of Business
- Country Music Festivals · Essence Music Festival · NFL Kickoff · Super Bowl Boulevard · Presidential Inaugurations Select Production Credits