An intimate storytelling community of practice building trust, authenticity and purpose in Orange County
School of Legend
Find the Stories That Create Impact and Transformation
School of Legend is a 12-month cohort-based leadership journey, in which you will develop your most essential, retellable stories for communications, purpose and leadership.
The journey is built in authenticity, storytelling, and a willingness to be real.
Participants are CEOs and next-level leaders dedicated to creating change in their lives, in the county, and in the world. These are leaders who know their words - written, spoken, recorded, live, and virtual - are essential in their path of catalyzing transformation.
The goals of School of Legend are to elevate trust, build confidence, and cultivate a legion of purposeful story-shapers and future-makers in Orange County.
One-Year Journey Begins January 13, 2026!
An Evolution in Communications
School of Legend is the result of 20 years of cultivating transformational CEOs through purposeful storytelling.
For years, leaders in Orange County have worked together to find, shape and share their most essential stories that grow their organizations, their relations, and their impact.
These stories create change on stage, at board meetings, in critical conversations. But most importantly - the change shows up in you. And each re-calibrated story you tell - the real, purposeful application of your lived wisdom - is needed now more than ever.
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![Dawn Reese]()
“Because of this work, I ask better questions. I am a better listener, and I’m a better writer. Plus - he is an amazing person, and an advocate for our nonprofit sector. And I have built deep friendships with cohort members.”
—Dawn Reese, CEO, The Wooden Floor
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![Greg Hulsizer]()
“You helped me cultivate a sense of introspection. Now I’m wired to see teachable moments – what’s happening with me, around me, and to me, and translate these into valuable insights to share.”
—Greg Hulsizer, Former CEO, Leadership Coach
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![Rebecca Hall]()
“I would recommend Jay's Storytelling Cohort to anyone! I met amazing people and worked on my own stories. I’ve been working on other people's stories for nearly 30 years and finally made the commitment to do it myself. It's so powerful! Thank you Jay Golden!”
—Rebecca Hall, CEO IdeaHall
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![Julie Hudash]()
“I believe as human beings we all need to know, embrace and be able to articulate our purpose and passion in life. If you’re a leader compelled to dig into your personal story, to find your authentic voice, I highly recommend joining one of Jay’s coaching pods. Just warning you tho, be ready to lean into the transformational journey of self awareness and purpose.”
—Julie Hudash, Founder and CEO, Team Kids
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![Lisa Thomas]()
“This is not just becoming a better speaker or communicator, but a better person, in helping others through your story, and in experiencing theirs. Because it’s one thing to tell your own story but when you get so excited about another person’s story, and can retell that out in the world, the benefits are very clear.”
—Lisa Thomas, Founder & CEO, Main Street Marketing Partners
“Jay’s story coaching and CEO pods have not only created better storytellers, they’ve created lifelong friends and helped to build boards, raise money and change lives.”
Cultivating Connectivity
A platform to develop: Tools, techniques, modeling and feedback to help you revamp your small stage and large stage communications from the inside out
Trust building that is good business: Shared story builds relationships that become collaborations, job opportunities, board seats, and support with meaningful change
Mutual support and collaboration: Celebrating communications, speeches, transformations, book launches, sharing resources, and showing up at each other's events
Peer coaching and accountability: Members grow their own story coaching and story-listening capacity, and the pods become a practice ground to work on the great stories of your life.
You’ll Leave With:
A collection of your most essential retellable stories for use in many forms, including small stage or large stage, writing, social media and podcast
A new daily practice of insight gathering to apply in media, in writing, in leadership, and in life
An opportunity to test, develop and be real about your stories and ideas and experiences in a safe and supportive setting.
“Jay delivers an inner sense of knowing, alignment, personal connection to story and audience, which is the perfect recipe to create powerful impact. Thank you for all you do Jay, you are truly a gift for so many leaders!””
How School of Legend Works:
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Monthly Leadership Pods
Each pod of eight storytellers will meet in person monthly to workshop key stories, collaborate on key challenges, and shape emergent insights
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Monthly Expert Story Seminars
Monthly virtual sessions will feature four storytellers speaking to the entire community. Every other month will feature experts in storycraft, improvisation, presence, story-based media training, story-to-book, and telling the story of your career transition.
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Four Live Legend Events
Two Legend OC theater shows and two Legend Cafes over the course of the year will cross-pollinate connection among pods and exclusively feature community members.
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Constellation Collection
This process will help you shape and record a core collection of your most important insights and transformations, delivered in retellable stories.
We will discover, develop, share and co-create new stories for a new time, in community.
As a part of a legion of committed, innovative leaders, you are invited to take one trip around the sun, in a living practice of insight translation and application led by Jay Golden, speaker, storytelling coach and Orange County Native.
This is more than storytelling. It is storyliving.
As part of this experience, you will find a collaboration of committed leaders, working to help each other grow in your leadership, your purpose, and your communications. At the core, this work will help you step into the next version of who you are in the world.
What you will bring to School of Legend:
A willingness to grow, learn and share your most important stories.
An openness to help and reflect insights to those other leaders around you.
The dedication to show up twice a month for meetings (once in person).
We will have a maximum of 64 participants, so space is limited.
$350/month* for a year or $300/month if you sign up by November 15th.