Brandon P. Fleming’s story of struggle, success, and service has inspired millions around the world. An at-risk youth and college dropout turned award-winning Harvard educator, Fleming is Assistant Debate Coach at Harvard University and Founder/CEO of the Harvard Diversity Project. Fleming was recruited to join the Harvard debate faculty at the age of 26. Harvard later approved Fleming’s proposal to establish a new department within the university system called the Harvard Diversity Project – an unprecedented pipeline program that the Harvard Debate Council would adopt as its subsidiary. Fleming now leads an executive staff and board that has raised nearly half a million dollars to enroll over 75 students of color into Harvard’s international summer residency on full scholarship.
Fleming recruits predominantly underprivileged youth with no prior debate experience who he then trains to compete against hundreds of experienced and top-ranked debaters from over 25 different countries around the world. Both the first and second cohort of students trained by Fleming made history two years in a row as back-to-back champions, with the second group achieving an unprecedented undefeated record at the international tournament. News of the achievement instantly went viral and broke national headlines, being featured on CNN, CBS, Huffington Post, Ebony Magazine, and many more. Since, the organization has gained the financial backing of Fortune 100 companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, Chick-fil-A, Kaiser Permanente, Publix Supermarkets, and Warner Media. Fleming has established a groundbreaking organization that is pipelining Black youth into Ivy League and elite colleges & universities. His students have now matriculated to schools such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and others alike. Fleming’s story, erudition, and achievements have impacted lives in places ranging from federal prisons to global platforms such as the United Nations General Assembly. At the age of 29, Fleming earned the global distinction of being a 2020 Forbes list-maker.
