Dr. Tracy “TJ” Boyd
Founder & Head of School
Founder & Leadership
A school built on the belief that young people can understand power — and use it well.
Dr. Boyd founded The Law & Leadership School in Tennessee so that students in grades 7–12 could study law, government, and leadership by experiencing them, guided by educators and practitioners.
Academic background
Educator first.
Dr. Boyd's work is rooted in the conviction that education is a catalyst for systemic change. His scholarship and teaching center on civic literacy, the rule of law, and the cultivation of informed citizens who understand the law's role in society.
Degrees, institutions, and academic appointments will be listed here once confirmed.
Professional background
Practitioner of the systems he teaches.
Dr. Boyd serves as an independent arbitrator and family law mediator. That practice — resolving disputes outside the courtroom through structured, fair process — directly shapes how LLS teaches negotiation, mediation, and advocacy.
Alternative dispute resolution
Mediation and arbitration in the curriculum.
Because of Dr. Boyd's ADR practice, LLS students learn that most conflicts are resolved by agreement, not verdict. Mediation, arbitration, and negotiation are taught alongside trial advocacy so students graduate with the full range of tools for resolving disputes.
Service and community
Accountability, reform, and the community's role.
Dr. Boyd advocates for a reimagining of how law is applied in America and calls on faith communities and neighborhoods to act as agents of accountability and reform. LLS grew out of that commitment: a school designed to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline with rigor, formation, and leadership.
Justice-impacted perspective
Why the mission is personal.
Dr. Boyd's leadership is informed by close experience with how the justice system affects families and young people. That perspective is the reason LLS insists that students understand the system before it acts on them.
Additional approved biographical detail will be published here as supplied.
The Law & Leadership Society
A broader community of purpose.
Beyond the school, The Law & Leadership Society connects students, alumni, families, and supporters who share the mission of legal literacy and principled leadership. The Society is a community, not a campus: LLS operates its school programs in Tennessee only.
Distinctions and disclaimers