[Navigating the Grey] Lawrence E. Adjah, Community Builder, Executive Advisor, Pastor & Host

"What will people think?"

Join us for a conversation with Lawrence E. Adjah, Community Builder, Executive Advisor, Pastor & Host, hosted by Kyra Atekwana (MBA '21) and co-sponsored by the Chicago Booth African American MBA Association and Booth Africa. As the Founder and Chairman of Our Family Dinner, a global community building foundation, and an alumnus of Stanford Business School, Lawrence will discuss his thoughtful, rigorous framework for strengthening communities in the midst of a world in which people are increasingly digitally connected yet increasingly isolated, a world fraught with loneliness, by focusing on the nexus of business, community wellness, and faith. Lawrence will also share his journey as the son of Nigerian immigrants to the corporate world and what motivated his decision to leave that world to dedicate himself to a life of service.

More from the Navigating the Grey Series

We would love to host you for our entire Navigating the Grey Series! Events are taking place from Tuesday Apr 6th - Friday Apr 9th. Our series includes:

• Tue, Apr 6 - Entrepreneurship and Social Impact Panel Discussion | Christy Vines, President at Ideos | Malini Ram Moraghan (MBA '06), Founder and Managing Director at Torana Group | Mark O'Halloran (MBA '93), CFO & Director of Economic Development at Together Chicago

• Thu, Apr 8 - "A Wealthy Girl" | Charisse Conanan Johnson (MBA '10), Creator of Charisse Says and Managing Partner at Next Street

• Fri, Apr 9 - "Living Life on Purpose" | Barry Rowan, EVP and CFO at Gogo

Further Event Details

• Co-sponsored by the African American MBA Association, Booth Africa, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

• The event will be held virtually.

About Lawrence E. Adjah

Lawrence E. Adjah is a Community Builder and Host serving at the nexus of Business, Faith, and Community Wellness.  Lawrence builds communities and hosts conversations that unite, heal and transform lives.

Lawrence serves as the Founder and Chairman of the Family Dinner Foundation whose mission is to connect the world as a family at and beyond the dinner table. Beginning with its first initiative, Our Family Dinner in 2008, which reached nearly 50K young professionals around the world, its work has expanded to empowering an ecosystem of initiatives dedicated to connecting brothers and sisters as a family beyond the dinner table.

In a time where many of us are mediating our lives behind a computer screen and are living in cities without strong pre-existing relationships, Lawrence became burdened by the sleeping giant of our time: loneliness.  Observing that we’ve become more digitally connected than we’ve ever been, yet more isolated and disconnected interpersonally than ever before, it became his mission to address this growing issue. He believes that we were never meant to do life alone and that it is vital for people to have a space where they can build lifelong, life-sustaining relationships.  Through his experience in business and community building, he became convinced the solution to this challenge is as much a spiritual matter as it is a civic, social, and technological opportunity. He pursued formal theological education and training and became an ordained Pastor and spiritual counselor who brings this foundation into every aspect of his approach to community building, business and life.

Lawrence currently hosts two shows, Watch God Work, a show featuring leaders from all arenas of business, entertainment, civic leadership and culture sharing their “God Stories” and A2D (Agree2Disagree) a weekly conversation that intentionally tackles the “the challenging conversations” in our community we are having or need to have in our families, friendships and/or romantic relationships.

Lawrence began his career as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in its New York office, helping to serve some of the world’s largest professional sports organizations and media companies. Prior to joining McKinsey, he was a nationally ranked track and field competitor through college, where he entered as a National Champion & HS All-American.  After McKinsey, Lawrence served as the Senior Director of Business Development at a premiere sports and entertainment marketing agency in New York.  Lawrence has served as a trusted Executive Advisor and Counselor to business leaders, from C-suite executives to solo lead small business owners, with nearly 15 years of experience through his firm, Adjah.  He's also a licensed and ordained Pastor, a Prepare + Enrich Certified Marriage Counselor, and Spiritual Coach & Trainer, who also leads the world's first gospel-based spiritual gym, Foundation JC.
Lawrence serves as an Advisory Board Member and Former President of the Board of Directors for The Harvard Black Alumni Society (HBAS). Lawrence also serves on the Board of Directors for the Urbanworld Film Festival and the national Board of New City Kids.ÔÇ¿ He’s also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc.

Lawrence holds a B.A., from Harvard University, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, an M.Ed from The University of Texas at Austin with distinction and a Masters of Divinity (M.Div) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

About Navigating the Grey

Navigating the Grey is an annual, student-led ethics conference at Booth, born out of the Great Recession by members of the Christians in Business student club in recognition of our responsibilities as future leaders. Each year, we invite prominent representatives of the private and social sectors so that they can share valuable lessons learned with us.

Our goal is to inspire audience members to define their own compass of values, and think consciously about how they will live out those values in the face of inevitable "grey areas" in our personal and professional lives. How will we not just survive these grey areas, but thrive in them?