Plenary Speaker: David Lee Morgan, Jr.

David Lee Morgan Jr. is a longtime sportswriter/journalist for more than 30 years and is currently a high school English and video journalism teacher at Stow-Munroe Falls High School. He’s also a public speaker, and author. He is also a content producer for PBS Western Reserve.

David Lee was a co-producer of the 2022 regional Emmy Award-winning PBS Western Reserve documentary Lines Broken: The Story of Marion Motley, which told the story of Motley and three other Black players reintegrated professional football in 1946.

The documentary aired nationally on PBS affiliates and was distributed by American Public Television.

David Lee received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional Writing and Editing from Youngstown State University, and his Master of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governors University.

He also received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters from Youngstown State University, where he was the 2022 Fall Commencement speaker. David Lee was recognized by Western Governors University as a Distinguished Alumni in 2023, one of only fifteen graduates across the country and one of only two from Ohio.

David Lee is the author of 16 books, including LeBron James: The Rise of a Star, which was selected as one of the year's best books for reluctant young adult readers by the American Library Association in 2005. The book also received starred editorial reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal.

He is also the author of Breaking Through the Lines: The Story of Marion Motley (2023), and an eight-book children’s series called Black Trailblazers in Sports (2024).

David Lee was inducted into the Warren, Ohio Sports Hall of Fame in 2024, Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Trumbull County African American Achievers Hall of Fame (2004).

David Lee and his wife Jill enjoy their Northeast Ohio home in Canton with their two Labrador retrievers, D. J., and Donut. They also enjoy the regular visits from their seven adult children and four grandchildren. Visit David Lee online at www.davidleemorganjr.com.