Born in Baltimore, MD in 1954 to the parents of LeRoy & Dorothy Hines, LeRoy Jr. was the third child born, of what was to be nine children. The family moved to Philadelphia when he was eight months old.
uld imagine while living in the tough neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. There he had to contend with poverty, drug infestation, gang violence and other anti-social forces that take their toll on poor inner-city youths in particular, and young African-Americans in general.
LeRoy Sr. realized the need to find some alternative to the streets for his five sons. LeRoy Sr. had the opportunity to study Judo while stationed in Korea during the Korean War. He used his Judo training as a recreational alternative to the streets for his sons and others in the local community. LeRoy Jr. expressed a real interest in this martial art. He would use the training received by his father as a spring board to other martial arts. LeRoy Jr. believed that he could use the martial arts as a beacon to find some meaning to the tumultuous times he faced as a teenager.
The gang violence was just too much to deal with in North Philadelphia and was beginning to interfere with his ability to go to high school. At the age of sixteen, LeRoy Jr. was sent to Newark, New Jersey in hopes of being able to at least finish High School. There he continued to practice the martial arts; but he also discovered a new hobby, which was reading. Before graduating from Weequahic high school in 1972, LeRoy Jr. had read many classics ranging from Trotsky to Iceberg Slim.
After graduating high school, LeRoy Jr. had taken on numerous dead-end jobs around the Newark area. He wanted very much to attend college, but lack of finances became the number one constraint preventing his entry into college. In addition to the lack of finances, LeRoy Jr. felt deep within him that, frankly speaking, the “incredulous” education he received growing up in the public schools of North Philadelphia and later in Newark, New Jersey had impaired his ability to function in a post-high school academic environment.
After being laid off from work, LeRoy Jr. decided that he would join the United States Army. While doing a two year tour of duty, LeRoy Jr. used the military to improve himself by taking college courses whenever it was possible. Upon leaving the Army, LeRoy Jr. felt that he was now ready to attend Essex County College. He felt confident that he could now compete with other students in a rigorous academic environment. LeRoy Jr. graduated Essex County College after two years. He was immediately accepted at Rutgers University Newark campus as a junior.
While perusing his bachelor’s degree in finance and economics, LeRoy Jr. founded the Government Club; he wrote many articles on the political economy issues of the day for the Rutgers Observer. He was also 1983 yearbook editor.
After receiving his bachelor’s in 1983, LeRoy was accepted into the MBA program at Rutgers Graduate School of Business, where he graduated in 1985. In the fall of 1985, LeRoy Jr. started his post graduate work at the New School, NYC, NY. In 1990, LeRoy Jr. received a PhD in finance and economics. By this time, LeRoy Jr. had already started his professional career.
In 1988, LeRoy Jr. went to work as a senior consultant for the Computer Science Corporation. In 1991, he would leave his post for a manager’s position at Engineering and Professional Services. In 1993, LeRoy Jr. decided to re-locate his family to the Atlanta area, which is still his permanent address today. After growing tired of the weekly commute between Atlanta and New Jersey, LeRoy Jr. resigned from his post at Engineering and Professional Service to work as an accounting manager for Cagle’s, a food processor. After three years at Cagle’s, LeRoy Jr. left the company to become Chief Financial Officer for the Quality Grain Company. The main focus of the company was to provide agriculture technology to the developing world, with an emphasis on Africa and the former USSR states. For the next five years, LeRoy Jr. was to travel the world, while making Ghana, West Africa his second home. As LeRoy Jr.’s children began to grow older, he felt the need to be home to help provide guidance.
In 2001, LeRoy Jr. left the Quality Grain Company and accepted a production controller position for the Crider Corporation located in Southeast Georgia. The company was financially on the ropes and LeRoy Jr. was hired to bring his financial and organization expertise to turn the company around; which after a year and a half, he did.
The great success experienced at the Crider Corporation inspired LeRoy Jr. to move back to Atlanta and launch his own Consultant business, which he did. In 2005, LeRoy Jr. and Chanda Redmond founded the Analytical Group of Atlanta Business consulting firm and think tank. The AGA, as it is called, was and is still able to attract a number of high profile customers in the Atlanta area.
In February 2009, LeRoy was asked to consider coming on board as a consultant with the intellectual resource firm of Booz Allen Hamilton in the Washington DC area. When he found out who his client would be, he emphatically said yes. Today, most of LeRoy’s time is spent consulting with president Obama’s economic team and the United States Military on projects.
Dr. Hines, as he is known in professional circles is probably better known outside those circles for teaching martial arts to many around the world. What is little known about Dr. Hines is that he has mentored many young African-American, Asians and Hispanics to become captains of industries. Also, Dr. Hines has taught finance, economics and accounting at institutions such as Essex County College (Newark), Rutgers (Newark), Georgia State, and the University of East Legon, Ghana, West Africa.
Dr. Hines is indeed living proof that through hard work, one can overcome obstacles in life with hard work and practice to become what is regarded as the “classical case”.