We’re looking forward to introducing you to Will Lu. Check out our conversation below.
Will, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Who are you learning from right now?
Right now I’m learning from community organizers in San Diego who are really good at bringing people together and making sure they feel like they belong. What I’m studying in them is the whole arc, not just the event: how they spot a need, how they pick the right mix of partners, how they extend the invitation so people actually come, and then how they follow up so it doesn’t stay a one-time moment. A lot of them work in that military-connected space, so they understand transition, isolation, deployments, and the way families can feel in-between. They’re intentional about welcome language, they build in small roles so people can contribute, and they design the room so no one feels like “just a beneficiary.” I’m trying to bring more of that into my own work. From creating spaces where service, support, and connection happen at the same time to where people walk away feeling seen, not just helped.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Will, and most of what I do sits at the intersection of defense work and community building. By day I support Navy programs out of San Diego, working on the not so glamorous but important work like schedules, performance, and making sure project teams are moving in the same direction. Outside of that, I serve with the Armed Services YMCA and other military-serving efforts in San Diego, where the focus is simple: get military families what they need, and make sure they are not doing it alone.
What makes my work a little different is that I am trying to treat community like infrastructure. I am interested in how spaces, programs, volunteers, and partners can be designed so people keep coming back, meeting new people, and feeling like they belong. I write about that, I test it in real programs, and I bring in what I am learning from my executive MPA studies to give it some policy backbone.
Right now I am working on ways to tell that story better. I want to show how military-serving nonprofits “show up when it is hard,” how we can grow volunteer pipelines, and how we can connect people across circles that do not usually meet. At the core, I am trying to build rooms where people feel seen and useful.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
I think bonds between people usually break for three main reasons.
First, when people feel unseen or unheard. If someone keeps showing up, offering ideas, or carrying work and it does not get acknowledged, they start to pull back.
Second, when there is a breach of trust. That can be a promise not kept or a decision made without the people it affects. Once that happens people begin to protect themselves instead of investing in the relationship.
Third, when the shared story fades. If we forget why we are together, every disagreement turns into me versus you instead of us working on the same mission.
What restores it is a little different.
One, proximity with purpose. Getting people back in the same room to do something useful together is one of the fastest ways to rebuild trust.
Two, named acknowledgment. When you say “I saw what you did and it mattered,” it fixes a lot of the feeling of being overlooked.
Three, retelling the shared story. When you restate the purpose and who we serve, people remember they are on the same side.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Yes. I do. I miss having unclaimed moments in the day where I could just stop for a minute.
Right now life is pretty layered. I have my role in defense work, I am involved with military-serving nonprofits, I am in school, and I try to be present for people in my circle. None of that is something I want to give up. It is all aligned with who I am. The part people do not always see is that when you stack good things on top of good things, you can still end up with no air in between.
What I miss is those small pauses where you are not in output mode. Time to sit in the car before walking in. Time to finish a task and actually feel like you finished it. Time to look at what you built for the community and let it land. When the plate is full, those quiet pieces are the first to go, because the next thing feels urgent.
So yes, there is something I miss that I do not talk about a lot. I miss having space to notice my own life while I am living it. I am working on putting those moments back in on purpose, because if I do not, everything turns into “what is next” instead of “this is good.”
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
A cultural value I protect at all costs is making sure people feel like they belong in the room.
For me that shows up in a few ways.
Everyone gets to be seen. If someone shows up and contributes, I want that noticed. Groups fall apart when only the loudest or most senior are recognized. I try to name people’s work and pull quieter folks in.
No closed circles. I do not like environments where everything is already decided and people are just being informed. I would rather slow it down and make space for the people the work is actually for. That is especially true in military-serving and community settings.
Service over ego. I want the tone to be “we are here to help families and make the community stronger,” not “we are here to impress each other.” If the culture drifts toward ego, it stops being welcoming.
I have seen how fast people disengage when they feel invisible. So that is the line for me. The culture has to tell people, “You can be here, you can help, and you matter.” If we keep that, we can fix almost anything else.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I understand pretty deeply that connection does not just show up on its own. It has to be built.
Most people think if you get good people in one place, community will form. Sometimes it does for a moment, but it does not last unless someone is designing for it. What I have seen in military-serving spaces, nonprofits, and even big organizations is that the groups that stay connected all do the same things.
They create clear ways for new people to enter. Someone notices you, says your name, and gives you something small to do. Once you contribute, you start to care.
They make the gathering predictable. Same kind of space, same general time, same purpose. That stability makes it easier for people to show up again.
They keep telling the story of why the group exists. When people remember who this is for, they are more patient with each other and less likely to leave over something small.
So what I understand, and try to practice, is that belonging is not an accident. It is leadership work. If you set the conditions, people connect. If you do not, they drift.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://substack.com/@willlu
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-lu
