Meet Dr. Walé Elegbede
Leadership is about service, listening, bringing people together and creating opportunities for others to thrive
Why Dr. Walé Elegbede is Running
Dr. Walé Elegbede is running for Mayor because he believes Rochester deserves leadership that listens to residents, solves problems, tells the truth, and brings people together.
He believes Rochester’s future should be built on trust, opportunity, compassion, accountability, innovation, and shared purpose. He believes growth should benefit all residents — not just a few — and that leadership should unite communities rather than divide them.
Walé and his wife Audrey have built their lives in Rochester, where they raised their children, served their community, and developed deep relationships across neighborhoods, schools, faith communities, and civic organizations.
Through his life experiences, professional leadership, community work, and research, Walé has come to believe something simple but important: people want leaders who listen, lead with integrity, and bring communities together.
That is the kind of leadership Walé believes Rochester deserves.
A Life Rooted in Service and Leadership
Dr. Walé Elegbede, EdD, MBA, PMP believes leadership is about service, bringing people together, and creating opportunities for others to thrive.
Born into a family deeply rooted in public service, discipline, and education, Walé spent part of his childhood in Nigeria and Togo, where he attended the American School of Lomé, Togo and was introduced early to American democratic ideals, civic responsibility, and service to others. He later attended Nigerian Navy Secondary School, where the values of hard work, accountability, and teamwork became deeply ingrained in him.
Service and sacrifice were part of Walé’s upbringing. His father served as a diplomat and civil servant, while his grandmother was among the earliest female police officers in Nigeria before the country gained independence in 1960. Several members of his family served in the military at the highest levels, while others dedicated their lives to education, healthcare, business, and community leadership. Those experiences shaped Walé’s belief that leadership is not about power or status, but about responsibility, courage, integrity, and standing up for others. Walé’s last name, Elegbede, means “a strong supporter or defender has come,” reflecting his lifelong commitment to service, advocacy, and community.
Like many immigrants pursuing opportunity, Walé came to the United States with little more than determination, faith, and belief in the promise of America. Without access to financial aid or student loans, he worked tirelessly while pursuing higher education and building a future. Those years taught him resilience, humility, sacrifice, and perseverance.
Walé later founded his own software company and developed innovative manufacturing and inventory management systems used within the lumber and sporting goods industries. One of the systems he created contributed to major operational growth for a company later recognized in INC 5000 magazine, helping support more than 84% company growth and over $30 million in increased sales. He later led strategic mission critical transformation initiatives for Ashley Furniture Industries, the largest home furniture manufacturer in world.
Today, Walé serves as Director of Strategy Management Services within Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, where he helps oversees the Project Management Office and implementation of strategic transformative initiatives, and large-scale projects for the world’s leading healthcare organization. Throughout his career, he has led and overseen more than $100 million in strategic initiatives focused on innovation, operational excellence, workforce culture, and measurable outcomes.
But Walé’s leadership journey has never been limited to business.
For more than a decade, he has been deeply involved in community leadership, advocacy, coalition-building, and public service throughout Rochester and the region. As President of the Rochester Branch of the NAACP, he helped expand youth engagement, educational programming, public health collaborations, and community conversations centered on trust, dignity, opportunity, and belonging.
During times of division and uncertainty, Walé has consistently worked to bring people together. He helped reignite the “Not In Our Town” movement, launched the “Love Wins” initiative, created the widely recognized “All Are Welcome Here” signs displayed in many businesses, and established an interfaith coalition focused on confronting racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and hatred in all forms.
Walé is running for Mayor because he believes Rochester deserves leadership that listens, tells the truth, solves problems, and brings people together. He believes Rochester’s greatest strength has always been its people — and that the city’s future should be built on trust, compassion, opportunity, accountability, and shared purpose.
Explore Walé’s Story
Foundation Built on Service, Discipline, and American Ideals
Walé’s story began long before Rochester. He spent part of his childhood in West Africa, where he attended the American School of Lomé and was introduced early to American democratic ideals, civic responsibility, leadership, and service to others. Those early experiences helped shape his worldview and planted the seeds for a lifelong commitment to community and public service.
He later attended Nigerian Navy Secondary School, where discipline, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance became core values that continue to shape his leadership today. The school’s emphasis on hard work and collective responsibility reinforced Walé’s belief that progress happens when people move forward together.
Raised in a family deeply rooted in public service, Walé learned early that true leadership is not about power or recognition, but about responsibility, integrity, and serving others.
Family Legacy of Service
Service and sacrifice run deeply through Walé Elegbede’s family history.
His father served as a diplomat and civil servant, while his grandmother was among the earliest female police officers in Nigeria before the country gained independence in 1960. Several members of his family served in the military at the highest levels, including a Vice Admiral in the Navy, a Major during the Nigerian Civil War, a Lieutenant Colonel who served during the Kosovo conflict to prevent human rights abuses, and a Wing Commander in the Air Force. Others dedicated their lives to education, healthcare, business, and civic leadership.
Growing up surrounded by these examples taught Walé the importance of integrity, discipline, resilience, accountability, and standing up for others. Those values continue to guide both his leadership philosophy and his commitment to Rochester today.
Coming to America
Hard Work, Sacrifice, and Opportunity
Without access to financial aid, student loans, or government assistance, he worked tirelessly while pursuing higher education and building a future. Those experiences taught him resilience, humility, sacrifice, and perseverance while also giving him a firsthand understanding of the challenges many working families face.
Walé later founded his own software company and developed innovative manufacturing and inventory management systems used within the lumber and sporting goods industries. One of the systems he created contributed to significant operational growth for a company later recognized in INC 5000 magazine, helping support more than 84% company growth and over $30 million in increased sales.
Those experiences shaped his understanding of entrepreneurship, innovation, economic growth, and the importance of creating environments where businesses and families can succeed.
Executive, Business, & Innovation Leadership
Professionally, Walé has built a career leading large-scale transformation, innovation, and operational strategy.
Today, he serves as Director of Strategy Management Services within Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, where he helps oversees the Project Management Office and implementation of strategic transformative initiatives, and large-scale projects for the world’s leading healthcare organization. He holds many professional certifications including the certified Project Management Professional.
Throughout his career, Walé has successfully led and overseen more than $100 million+ in strategic initiatives spanning healthcare, manufacturing, technology, innovation, and organizational transformation. His work has included digital transformation, AI-enabled systems, workforce culture initiatives, operational improvement, and strategic planning. He is also a global thought leader and has spoken on leadership at global, national, regional, and local stages. He personifies excellence.
A business leader and innovator, he created a solution that contributed to major operational growth for a company, and his software was recognized in INC 5000 magazine, for helping support more than 84% company growth and over $30 million in increased sales.
Community Leadership
For more than a decade, Walé has been deeply engaged in community leadership, public service, advocacy, and coalition-building throughout Rochester and the region.
As President of the Rochester Branch of the NAACP, he helped expand youth engagement, educational programming, public health collaborations, voter engagement efforts, and community conversations centered on trust, dignity, opportunity, and belonging.
Walé has consistently worked to build bridges across differences and create spaces for honest dialogue, collaboration, and healing. He helped establish an interfaith coalition that brought together people of all faiths — and no faith at all — to confront racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and hatred in all forms.
His leadership has focused on bringing people together rather than driving communities apart.
Creating Spaces Where Everyone Belongs
In 2017, during a period of growing national division, Walé created the now widely recognized “All Are Welcome Here” signs displayed throughout many businesses and community spaces.
The signs were designed to send a simple but powerful message: every person — regardless of race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, or background — deserves dignity, safety, and belonging.
As Rochester continued navigating moments of division, tension, and uncertainty, Walé remained deeply engaged in bringing people together through action, conversation, advocacy, and community partnership. Over the years, he has helped organize and lead numerous community conversations, educational forums, youth initiatives, anti-hate rallies, cultural engagement events, and collaborative efforts focused on strengthening unity, trust, compassion, and belonging across Rochester.
Walé later helped reignite the “Not In Our Town” movement and launched the “Love Wins” initiative, both focused on promoting unity, compassion, healing, and standing against hate in all forms.
For Walé, leadership has never been about performative statements. It has always been about taking action, building relationships, and creating communities where people feel seen, respected, and valued.
Bringing Rochester Together During Difficult Moments
During moments of fear, uncertainty, and division, Walé has consistently stepped forward to help bring people together.
Whether responding to hate incidents, community tensions, or fear surrounding ICE actions, Walé has demanded accountability while working to create spaces for dialogue, healing, peaceful engagement, and community solidarity.
He has organized community conversations, interfaith gatherings, advocacy efforts, and public events focused on dignity, compassion, accountability, and protecting the humanity of all people.
Walé believes leadership is tested most during difficult moments — not by how loudly leaders speak, but by whether they help communities heal and move forward together.
TED Talk -Leadership, Courage, and Human Connection
Walé’s TED Talk - “It takes a community to eradicate hate” - was born from witnessing the fear, pain, and uncertainty that hatred and division were having on members of his community.
Growing up under military dictatorship in West Africa, Walé understood firsthand how dangerous rhetoric, fear, and dehumanization can divide people and damage communities. Years later, after immigrating to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream, he began hearing language and seeing tensions that reminded him of environments he had experienced growing up.
He saw fear spreading throughout the broader community — among Muslims, immigrants, people of color, and families worried about hatred, violence, and division. Community members felt isolated, anxious, uncertain, and afraid for their future.
Rather than respond with silence or fear, Walé chose leadership, action, and community.
He helped bring together Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, people of no faith, and community leaders to stand shoulder to shoulder against hatred, Islamophobia, racism, antisemitism, and division.
At the heart of his TED Talk was a simple but powerful belief: communities become stronger when people choose empathy over division, courage over silence, and love over fear. Walé challenged communities to move from a mindset of “not my business” to understanding that protecting one another and standing against hate must become everyone’s business.
Scholar & Ethical Leadership
Walé earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Ethical Leadership and developed the TEACH Framework™, a leadership model centered on Trust, Empathy, Accountability, Cultural Awareness, and Honest Communication.
His doctoral research focused on trust-building, belonging, culturally responsive leadership, and how leadership shapes organizational culture and community engagement across diverse environments.
Drawing from perspectives across healthcare, education, government, business, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement, faith communities, and community leadership, Dr. Walé Elegbede’s research reinforced the importance of empathy, accountability, communication, and trust in effective leadership.
Those principles continue to shape how he approaches leadership, coalition-building, and public service today.