Letters from Leaders Wilson H. Parran - 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: Wilson H. Parran

“Write your own agenda, because if you don’t, others will write it for you.”

– Wilson Parran, remembered from his philosophy professor

Our inaugural topic of “Leading from Where You Are” explores the dynamics and environments that challenge and nurture us, that both present barriers and give us a platform. Where you are physically, or your stature in a community, will never be the exact same as any of our writers; where your heart is will often reflect the same values and opportunities they have experienced.

Pastor Wilson Parran, a dedicated public servant and community leader whose career spans decades of impactful service in Calvert County and across Maryland, demonstrates the unique tapestry that is woven by an individual when they are given the challenge and opportunity to reach outside of themselves, as a parent, as a spouse, as an employee, to stretch their arms and minds around their community. His life of service was not due to a title … it was due to his caring for his family, his community, his people, as he continues to this day. The courage to step forward is unspoken, but no less felt.

Wilson H Parran LSM ’09, LM ‘99

Pastor Wilson H. Parran is the pastor of St. Edmonds United Methodist Church in Chesapeake Beach. His extensive public service career includes his tenure as a Calvert County Commissioner from 2002 to 2010, where he served as Vice President from 2005 to 2006 and as President from 2006 to 2010. Parran served six years on the Calvert County school board and later on the state board of education. He also served as Calvert government’s first deputy county administrator from 2017 to 2020.

Whether you are starting your first job or you are well into your career, you have an opportunity to enhance your career growth by leading where you are. Some of you are thinking, “How can I really do that when there are no opportunities for me to lead?” Perhaps you are even thinking I don’t even like my job.

When you lead where you are you must take a balanced approach to all that you do. Look at all that you do now and think about what you would like to do with your time. I started approaching everything that I did as an opportunity to lead. By “everything,” I mean your workplace, family, community, public service, and volunteering.

When our older son started kindergarten, Debbie and I joined the PTA. We were committed to spend some time attending the meetings and working on projects in the school. The PTA nominated me to represent them on the countywide Board of Education Citizen Advisory Committee. This was an opportunity to represent our PTA and also enhance my interpersonal skills, which were also an asset to my career in technology.

At that time, I was a manager at Bell Atlantic (now Verizon). Within six months of serving on the Advisory Committee, I was appointed by the Governor to our local board of education. There I had the opportunity to lead, represent my community, and again enhance my leadership and management skill outside of the workplace.

I was elected by the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) as its President in 1985-1986. I also participated as a Board Member at the national level (National School Board Association) and, after six years serving on the local board of education, I was appointed to the Maryland State Board of Education for five years.

When I was elected Chair of the State Board of Education in 1990, the Baltimore Sun wrote an article about me as the new chair of the board. Bell Atlantic’s Communications group ran across the article while monitoring the media for articles that had the name Bell Atlantic in it. When the communications director read the article and passed it to the Bell Atlantic executive team, I received recognition for the community activity that I was involved in. Because of seeking to lead where I was at the time, the unintended benefit was being recognized for what I was doing outside of the workplace and the three promotions I received in the subsequent five years because of the “discovered” potential recognized by the executives at Bell Atlantic.

I am committed to lifelong learning and continue to find ways to lead where I am. I have done that in my religious community, where I have been blessed to become Pastor (in July 2023) at a local church. All the leadership skills I developed over the years were not developed just in the workplace. When you lead where you are, you become better at what you do, and you expand your circle of influence.

Clearly, I realize that everyone may not like their current job or even career; however, remember you can lead as a volunteer, in the family, in the neighborhood, as an elected official, and as a public servant. Choose to lead where you are because the skills you develop will make you an even better leader.

When I was pursing my BS degree, I had a philosophy professor who said, “Write your own agenda because, if you don’t, others will write it for you.” Choosing to lead where you are puts you in charge of where you want your career and life to go. When you do that, you will be prepared to take on more responsibility because you have taken the time to lead where you are. Choose to lead where you are.

Wilson H. Parran, LM ’99, LSM ’09, LSM Leadership Council

About Wilson H. Parran, LM ’99, LSM ’09

Pastor Wilson H. Parran serves as the pastor of St. Edmonds United Methodist Church in Chesapeake Beach, Md. He also serves as Chair of the Calvert County Police Accountability Board, Chair of the CalvertHealth Board of Directors, and member of the Calvert County Board of Library Trustees and the Maryland State Library Board of Directors.

Parran’s extensive public service career includes his tenure as a Calvert County Commissioner from 2002 to 2010, where he served as Vice President from 2005 to 2006 and as President from 2006 to 2010. He was a steadfast advocate for economic development, environmental sustainability, and public health, serving on the Calvert County Board of Health and the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee. Parran served six years on the Calvert County school board and later on the state board of education. He also served as Calvert County’s first deputy county administrator from 2017 to 2020.

Parran holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Columbia Union College and a Master of Science in Information Systems from George Washington University. A proud U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran, he is also an alumnus of Leadership Maryland (1999) and Leadership Southern Maryland (2009), and he is a member of the LSM Leadership Council.

A devoted family man, he is married to Deborah Parran. They have two sons (Damani and Khalil Parran) and seven grandchildren. He continues to shape the Calvert County and Southern Maryland community with unwavering dedication to leadership, innovation, and service.

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!