Letters from Leaders Christina Taylor - Leadership Southern Maryland

Letters From Leaders

An LSM Initiative to Inspire and Empower

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou

Think of the leaders in your life. They left indelible imprints on you, on the way you see the world, on what you choose to engage with as you go forward.

In Letters from Leaders, we will hear from a cross-section of Southern Maryland leaders intimately familiar with our region and our people. We will be touched by stories from their lives and facets of their experiences they carry with them along their journey. As we explore topics through their eyes and through their hearts, feel the impact of their words, their compassion, and their courage. Perhaps they, too, will leave their imprint on you.

– Matt Scassero, LM ’07, LSM Leadership Council

Leading from Where You Are: Christina Taylor

“I thought I needed a title to be a leader. I thought I needed more degrees and more experience. I didn’t realize I just needed to be me.”

– Christina Taylor, LEAP ’22, Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment, The George Washington University

In this third letter in our Letters from Leaders series, Christina Taylor, Vice President of the LSM Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP), invites us to reflect on the journey toward leadership—not the title or the résumé, but the quiet, often unseen transformation that occurs within. Her words speak to those who may doubt their voice, who haven’t yet seen the leader in their reflection.

With vulnerability and wisdom, Christina shares how she moved from shyness to strength—and how LEAP helps others do the same. This is a letter about self-belief, shared growth, and the radical idea that leadership lives within all of us, waiting to be called forward.

Christina Taylor, LEAP ’22

Christina Taylor, MBA, M.Ed, is Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment at The George Washington University and Vice President of the LSM Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP). Taylor is an accomplished program manager and higher education technology professional with several years of experience leading strategic initiatives across education, public health, and corporate sectors. She is deeply committed to service and community empowerment—for example, by helping to expand access to technology education for African American girls and students.

“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”
-Warren Bennis

As a child, I was painfully shy. I would often speak in soft tones and would fade to the back in public situations. I was extremely introverted. For people who have met me as an adult, this is probably hard to believe, but it is true. My mom and I laugh about it now, but growing up she had to force, bribe, and strongly encourage me, with loose threats of punishment, to speak up for myself, to go to the front, or to raise my hand. Although this often left me feeling quite frustrated, looking back I realize how vitally important this was for my growth and development—as a person, as a woman, and as a leader.

I, like many people, did not see my own potential, and I was at ease staying within my comfort zone. It took someone else—in my case, my parents—recognizing potential in me that I had not seen in myself for me to grow, evolve, and emerge into the leader I am today. Many years later, my leadership journey has developed into something of which that shy little girl would be proud.

My role as a Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) vice president is to cultivate and empower emerging leaders through LSM’s Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP). Our emphasis in leadership development is centered around the idea that we all possess a sense of leadership inside— we just need some encouragement to let it shine through. LEAP graduates come to the program, from diverse backgrounds—professionally and personally. It is our differences that bring us together as we collaborate to create a positive impact in the Southern Maryland community. With an emphasis on leadership development right here in our own backyards, we illustrate through our sessions and service projects what it means to lead from where you are.

This unique characteristic of the LSM organization provides us with an opportunity to make a direct, tangible impact on the lives of those around us. It also transforms us into trailblazers who make up the LEAP graduates: people who learn, develop, evolve, maintain leadership skills and characteristics, take these lessons back to their jobs and careers, and connect the dots in real life. It isn’t at all surprising that many of our LEAP graduates advance into more senior roles because what makes the LEAP program unique is its emphasis on growth and development rather than job titles. In LEAP we understand that titles only tell part of one’s story. The LEAP program exists to serve as a catalyst for development for the other part of your story: to hold up a mirror for participants to show them their potential and to turn it into tangible growth. I guess you could say the LEAP program is like my parents— constantly nudging its participants to trust their growth and to evolve and emerge.

For many of the nominees and participants in LEAP, we share a common characteristic of being shy or unsure of our capabilities as it relates to leadership. It is often assumed that without a title, or job, or tenure, one is not or cannot be considered a leader, but in LEAP we preach the exact opposite.

The premise of LEAP is centered around developing leaders from where they are to where they would like to go, with the idea that all of us have an inner leader. In LSM we collaborate with other leaders to make Southern Maryland communities better. Not all of us have fancy titles, but we exude the same confidence that allows us to create impact in our backyards. This is the same confidence that encourages us to speak up at work; the confidence to use our voices to help the hungry, the homeless, the helpless; the confidence to create, to do, to change.

To anyone beginning or continuing their leadership journey, I encourage you to look in the mirror, affirm yourself, and remember … objects (or leaders) are closer than they appear.

Christina Taylor, LEAP ’22, LSM Vice President of LEAP

About Christina Taylor, LEAP ’22

Christina Taylor, MBA, M.Ed, LEAP ’22, is Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment at The George Washington University and Vice President of the LSM Emerging Leaders Program (LEAP). Taylor is an accomplished program manager and higher education technology professional with several years of experience leading strategic initiatives across education, public health, and corporate sectors. With a strong background in project management, stakeholder engagement, and instructional design, she excels at driving growth, optimizing user experiences, and building cross-functional partnerships that align with business goals.

A proud alumna of Spelman College, Taylor is a recent graduate of The George Washington University, where she earned two master’s degrees in Business Administration and Higher Education Administration, reflecting her commitment to lifelong learning and educational equity. Her guiding philosophy—”Take your time, but do not waste your time,” as spoken by the late Chadwick Boseman—inspires her pursuit of both personal growth and meaningful professional impact.

Beyond her professional work, Taylor is deeply committed to service and community empowerment. She has served as a core team lead volunteer with Black Girls Code, helping to expand access to technology education for African American girls and students. She also serves on the Leadership Southern Maryland board of directors.

Taylor’s work consistently bridges strategy and service, positioning her as a thoughtful leader who is passionate about creating inclusive, innovative learning experiences and advancing opportunities for underrepresented communities.

About Matt Scassero, LM ‘07

Matt Scassero is the Director for Operations and Outreach for the University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering MATRIX Lab at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM). He promotes the Clark School’s role in the areas of integrated education and research (specifically focusing on autonomous technologies), outreach, and economic/community development. He completed a three-decade career flying off carriers for the Navy, and has both worked and volunteered in the social non-profit sector.

Scassero graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore, is a Leadership Maryland 2007 graduate and member of the LSM Leadership Council.

About Letters From Leaders

“Letters from Leaders,” a program of The Leadership Table with Matt Scassero, is a monthly series featuring real stories, insights, and reflections from leaders across Southern Maryland. The current theme, “Leading from Where You Are,” explores the many ways leadership happens in everyday moments.

Leadership is a journey, and we invite you to be part of it! Follow along in our newsletter and on social media, and be part of the conversation.

In September we’ll bring these lessons to life with a special live event: The Leadership Table with Matt Scassero – featuring “Letters from Leaders.” Join us for a dynamic, in-depth conversation where Scassero will sit down with all six contributing leaders in a live, interactive discussion.

Check back each month for a new letter, and stay tuned for details on our Leadership Table live event!