LA PLATA, Maryland. – Lesley Quattlebaum, executive director of the Velocity Center at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM), has been selected as a member of the 2024 Dr. Carolyn Grubbs Williams Leadership Team. She will join her cohort in Connecticut in October for the 20th annual Leadership Development Institute for African American Middle Class Administrators, hosted by the National Council on Black American Affairs.
“I am very excited about this leadership development opportunity,” said Quattlebaum. “Both personally and professionally, I feel like I can always learn more. I find that learning among peers in a group setting is valuable for learning from others’ experiences and building a personal and professional network that extends well beyond the time spent in the learning environment.”
“I am honored that my superiors at CSM considered me to participate,” she continued. “I am passionate about our mission to support our students on their personal path to success. I am using what I am learning to become a better leader and serve our community.”
During the October session of the Institute for Leadership Development, Quattlebaum will participate in a week-long interactive and facilitated dialogue on leadership with a group of 25 to 30 mid-level community college administrators and leaders from across the country. All sessions will be facilitated by renowned community college leaders.
“We are very proud to have Lesley join the leadership group,” said Ellen Flowers-Fields, vice president of education and workforce development at CSM. “With her commitment to our students and lifelong learning, she will be a very welcome addition to the leadership group.”
Quattlebaum was named executive director of the Velocity Center in Indian Head in May 2022. She joined CSM in 2016 as a business development project manager and grants specialist.
The Velocity Center is located just outside the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) in Charles County. The Navy uses the Velocity Center as a conference and meeting space and also hosts professional development activities and events there. It is also home to the Makerspace – a 2,000-square-foot collaborative workspace for creating, learning, discovering and sharing. It is equipped with a variety of maker devices, including 3D printers/scanners, laser cutters, soldering irons and other additive and subtractive machines for manufacturing. It includes hardware and software for cyber/gaming, CAD modeling, simulation, app development, robotics and prototyping. For more information, visit https://www.csmd.edu/about/locations/velocity-center/index.html.
