Daniel Leon-Davis - Inspiring Change Through Storytelling
Last month, we introduced a video project highlighting four Cooke Scholar Entrepreneurs, which included the story of Cooke Scholar Daniel Leon-Davis. Growing up Daniel wrestled with finding a career that was meaningful and utilized his creativity. After attending American University as a Cooke Transfer Scholar, he was inspired by a talk Michael Skolnik gave at a Washington, DC event about working at the intersection of arts, media, entertainment, and politics. After the event Daniel sought him out and they soon started to work together. He and Michael went on to found The Soze Agency, which uses art and media to tell stories and build experiences that shine a light on social issues.
“I think that what makes storytelling so powerful and why it’s our tool of choice is because there’s this human aspect,” Daniel said. “There’s this human aspect of being able to see someone do something that you feel familiar with and then tell you something that you disagree with. That’s what we’re always trying to do is bring this human aspect together, be it in creating an experience or directing a video, the idea is how do you get someone who isn’t directly impacted by this issue to hear them out and to feel the compassion for them as well.”
Daniel and the rest of the Soze team have worked on a number of high-profile campaigns, such as I Am an Immigrant, Vote for Justice, and Change Fashion. In the video below, Daniel talks about this work and the lessons he’s learned in his entrepreneurial journey.
Explore the stories of more Cooke Scholar Entrepreneurs here.
Find out more about our scholarship programs and how you can apply here.