Leslee Francis Aspen-based outreach director with the Rock and Roll Academy, since 2022, where she oversees raising money for the nonprofit. To achieve this, she writes grant requests to a wide range of businesses, municipalities, and private citizens. She also organizes fundraisers that involve live music. Leslee is also a community-oriented individual who has dedicated a significant portion of her time to advancing community interactions and connections.
Leslee Francis raised over $20,000 in her first year in the position. She also secured hundreds of new contacts to collaborate with the organization. She wrote 12 grants, set up five fundraisers, and implemented plans to expand Aspen’s Rock and Roll Academy.
In addition to her outreach work, Leslee Francis’ professional experience spans decades in education, outdoor recreation, and guiding. She spent six years as a preschool teacher at Wildwood, crafting lesson plans, developing portfolios for students, and teaching children about nature and the environment. Her passion for teaching shows in her work as a fly-fishing guide, a role she has held for over 30 years.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I jump out of bed, get ready, and head to work depending on the time of year. During the winter, I teach skiing, so I head to the locker room where my friends are laughing and getting ready for the day. I take students who question their skiing abilities and give them confidence and understanding of a complicated sport. I show them not only how to ski more efficiently, but also teach them about the environment and how to cope with changing conditions. This is true in the summer as well, when I guide fly-fishing. To me, this is more productive than anything else. With all the work I do, I try to educate and create awareness.
Otherwise, I am a single parent of an 18-year-old. His girlfriend lives with us, so there isn’t enough time in a day to keep up with them.
How do you bring ideas to life?
By sharing them with others. Coaching is exactly that: teaching ways to do an activity, do it better, and be happier with the outcome is what I do every day.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I am a little anti-trend, so I purposely don’t join in on trends. I try to create my own trends, and it is true that I’ve started a few trends around my area. For instance, I named my son “Bodi” and then it became popular a couple years later.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Instead of a habit, I think it’s more having hope that I can make a positive change in our community and possibly beyond. It keeps me going every day when I see someone have a lightbulb moment while I’m coaching them, knowing that I made a huge, positive change in their day and possibly their life.
What advice would you give your younger self?
The advice I would give myself is to take a healthy path and don’t waste time with activities and people that you will regret later. Don’t waste time because there isn’t enough. Make smart choices!
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
There are a lot of unpopular beliefs I have, but what I can share is that using eye-contact, asking questions, and paying attention to what others are saying and doing is quickly becoming lost. Don’t be so consumed with yourself and your phone that you lose awareness of your surroundings and what is really happening.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Do what you say you are going to do.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I feel this way all the time and it led to a very big problem in my past, so I am very aware of staying clear of being overwhelmed. I break everything down and make a list of what is most important first, sometimes writing it down. What can I finish today, and when will I work on the other projects? What can I check off the list now?
I keep focused because I know more will be coming tomorrow. If I don’t get everything done right away, it’s okay because there will be a time I will fit it in. I also like to exercise to get things in focus.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
My career is teaching and coaching, so I feel that really listening to students and letting them talk, making it about them and not about me, giving positive re-enforcement, and maintaining curiosity about learning really works.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Trusting someone I shouldn’t have trusted is a constant failure I’ve experienced in my career and life. It’s hard to overcome that, but I have learned to work in a way that I don’t have expectations of others and am careful of what I share. I have become very independent at work and at life, depending on myself and not so much on others.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Okay, this is weird, but I’ve experienced enormous amounts of pain for the past few years from spine surgeries and other injuries. What if there was a device that doctors could wear, and the patients could wear so that the doctor could feel where the pain is and how it feels? I have no knowledge of how to make such a device, but it would be so much easier to get the medical help needed if something like that existed.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
A book I just picked up again is the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. It’s a simple, beautiful, silly look at Taoism. I do have an interest in all religions and Taoism is very meaningful to me.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I just saw the Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown. The music in it was fantastic when it came to the other musicians he worked with, and the background of his songs was interesting to me as I am a Dylan fan. He is an amazing poet and able to tell a story with abstract metaphors.
Key learnings
- Being a good teacher involves meeting people halfway and listening to them.
- Consistency and reliability are valuable traits in work and in life.
- Awareness will help in every situation.