Meet Michelle Edgar

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Edgar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michelle, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Living a life of service has always been the foundation of my journey. Providing access and opportunities for communities—whether through education or experiences –drives me. At my core, I seek to make a difference on both micro and macro levels and I’m passionate about creating community through the people I serve. My ultimate goal is to leave a legacy behind that represents the rich tapestry which LA has to offer as a cultural epicenter.

Over the course of my career, no matter what job I have found myself in, I have always looked for ways to give back and make a difference. I am always thinking of ways to better the lives of those around me. My philanthropic and DEI work began over 15 years ago with my non-profit Music Unites. I am also the founder of women in leadership platform The XX Project. Both organizations help people tap into their potential and excel in their lives and careers both personally and professionally. These experiences led me to launching my experiential marketing agency Culture Collective, which leverages public and private partnerships for good, and celebrates collaboration and cultivation of the arts and culture.

I’m a strategic builder that loves creating, producing and connecting the dots to help people. After amazing 20+ year career in the cross section of working at some of the key entertainment and sports companies, I decided to follow my passion around service and dedicate myself fully to the pursuit of giving back in my role as the Senior Director of School and Business Partnerships at the Compton Unified School District and as Santa Monica Arts Commissioner.

Through these new roles, I am now embarking on a newfound path in the public sector. I am able to take my expertise and knowledge and apply it to impact city landscapes and communities, spearheading change across community building, organizing and policy making. I want to drive change and impact city landscapes around education, arts, sports, technology and STEM.

I discovered my skills in policy and leveraging public and private partnerships during my law school journey at UCLA Law. I knew this was my calling after receiving the UCLA Law U Serve Award. After accepting the award, Compton Unified School District Superintendent Darin Brawley, who has seen my passion for this work first-hand for over 10 years, said to me, “You will go into politics and serve. This is just the beginning–you are just getting started.” At the time I didn’t realize how accurate his prediction was—politics had never been a focus for me, although I had already started moving in the direction of service many years before.

For over a decade, I worked with the Compton Unified School District creating the Music Unites Centennial High Orchestra production programs and Music-Versity educational programs to virtually teach students about the many career opportunities in the music business. I also created the Music Unites Day Across Compton to celebrate and bring students together through the power of music. This led to my board position on the Compton Educational Foundation. Through this work, I knew the power of scalable and impactful educational programming and the impact it had to transform students’ lives. I continued to build on and pursue my passion in philanthropy and DEI/ impact while always working full-time whether as an agent at ICM or as an executive at Epic Records and Warner Bros. Records.

After graduating law school, I pivoted into the world of sports. I was an SBJ correspondent reporting on my law school thesis topic on Name, Image and Likeness. I also worked for LeBron James’ SpringHill company as well as the Centre for Sport & Human Rights with a focus on what child rights means for major global sporting events, during which I interviewed over 30 key stakeholders in Los Angeles. During this time, I launched a monthly Salsa Way series on the Santa Monica Pier, which brought bringing salsa to the greater community. This experience inspired me to get even more involved and help shape what art and culture means to my local community in Santa Monica. Educational opportunities in music were invaluable to me personally, and I am honored to be able to pay that forward.

Education is power and provides access and opportunity. I want to bring this to the cities and communities I serve. My expertise and knowledge have melded together in this exciting next chapter in my new role with the Compton School district, along with delving into the education space as an adjust professor at Northwestern Law, teaching a NIL course in January at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My passion for arts, culture and education stems from my upbringing–I first started playing the piano at five years old. Music has been a creative outlet and passion my entire life. It’s a form of expression where I could communicate and express myself in a new language. I discovered the piano and was so young that the teacher didn’t want to teach me until they realized I was ready for lessons as they discovered my gift for perfect pitch. I was more advanced than most children with my music, and fortunately I had parents who helped me develop this gift and did whatever it took to help me reach my fullest potential. At 13, I was accepted to Manhattan School of Music. I studied music six days a week and started competing and performing at a very young age. Being fully committed to music required sacrifice and discipline—there are no shortcuts when you must get on stage and perform an hour worth of repertoire. My musical journey led me to traveling the world for music festivals and performing all over the world, from Spain, Bulgaria to Russia. In my travels, I experienced the true power of music first-hand. While we didn’t speak the same language, we communicated through the language of music.

The invaluable training from my music laid the foundation and shaped me for the rest of my life. It is the greatest gift that I’ve taken the process and learnings and applied it to every other facet of my life. I applied the same training in music to sport when I picked up competitive sprinting while working full-time and getting my master’s at UCLA Law during the pandemic. I “Ran for Life” to tap into my force, as I wanted to be healthy and take care of my mind and body during a challenging time. I ended up running over 2,500 miles and placed 6th nationally at the USATF Masters Championships. I never participated in sports growing up, as I was focused on piano, attending band camp and international music festivals. Discovering my love for sport transformed me. Now I live my life in a way that ensures my mind and body are taken care of so I can optimize my peak performance and perform at my best.

I was always very disciplined, but training and competing as a runner taught me a new level of time management, resiliency, and fearlessness that I now apply to how I manage my life. This new mindset has enabled me to launch my marketing agency Culture Collective. Culture Collective is focused on public and private partnerships and offers strategy and experiential activations, leveraging my expertise in entertainment, music, and sports partnerships. The agency builds across city landscapes and community initiatives to impact change with the goal to leave an imprint on society and culture. I launched the agency this past year with a speaker series in partnership with the Viceroy Hotel that aims to propel culture and community by highlighting the artistry and craftsmanship of artists and creators. I have also curated and produced events from Los Angeles to Miami Art Basel featuring Elyse Mallouk, The Broad’s chief strategy officer, Roger Gastman Founder and Curator of Beyond the Streets, Hodge Patterson YMCA Santa Monica CEO, Vic Garcia and RETNA.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Resiliency and perseverance—never giving up and doing whatever it takes to get the job done is critical, especially when you are building. There is no cutting corners, you have to put in the work both mental and physical. I won’t take “no” for an answer. I always find another way to present the opportunity or find a solution that leads to a “yes.” Even during tough situations if you can persevere and overcome obstacles you will tap into your true potential and gain the confidence to achieve anything you set your mind to.

Pivot—knowing when it’s time to move on and try something different is key. Being able to reassess your work and reposition yourself is an important branding exercise to do as moments will always arise where you need to reassess and perhaps come up with a different game plan to get you closer to achieving your goals. The uncharted and unknown paths can often be the most rewarding.

Grace—being kind to oneself is a must. Troy Carter gave me this powerful five letter word of advice when I first moved to LA and it stuck with me. Grace can be everything from giving yourself more time and self-care to celebrating all the small and big wins along the journey, even the challenging parts.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am interested in aligning and collaborating with like-minded partners that are looking to make a scalable impact and leave a legacy behind. The Compton Unified School district is about elevating education and opportunity with the 18,000 students across 36 schools that it serves. In my role, I focus on art, sport, technology, and STEM by bringing access to programs and opportunities. I will serve as a liaison between the district, community organizations, foundations and business partners to bring in resoruces to siupport students and teachers in the CUSD efforts to deliver a quality education in the arts, STEM and enrichment activities. I will also develop pathways to college and careers through mentorship which is critical. It’s so important to educate students on financial literary and creating generational wealth at an early age. My plan will be to provide resources and funding to the school district through private and public partnerships from corporations, foundations, non-profit sector and ensuring that our community will be an exemplary school district not just on a local and state level but nationally for generations to come. Tremendous talent, including Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Serena Williams, and Ava DuVernay, has come from Compton, and that should be celebrated and amplified.

This past August, U.S. News & World Report announced their 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings which included two high schools in the Compton area including Compton High School. I’m excited as Compton High will reopen in 2025 with the Dr. Dre Performing Arts Academy. We are looking to create a sports academy and find a major partner to support this buildout as sports is such an important vehicle to mobilize and unite a community. We want to welcome new friends and supporters to the Compton community and bring a sense of personalization to partnership and impact as well as celebrating the students and creating systematic change across the educational system.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Nicolette Jackson-Pownall Aldaleo Photography Kyle Alfred Michelle Edgar

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Tactics & Strategies for Keeping Your Creativity Strong

With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity

Productivity
From Burnout to Balance: The Role of Self-Care

Burning out is one of the primary risks you face as you work towards your