Jaimie Lee 04C

Owner and Chief Instructor 
The Coalition NC 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jaimie Lee's journey began in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a renowned university town. In 2000, she set off for Emory University and could never imagine she would one day return home and become the owner of a self-defense business. Her childhood dream was to explore the world, but her path took a different turn during her time at Emory.

Initially, Lee intended to pursue business studies, but her life was transformed when she seized the opportunity to travel abroad. She earned the Mellon Minority Fellowship and graduated cum laude with a major in French studies and a minor in music. Her original plan to teach at a university took a detour when she ended up teaching English in France and embarked on a journey of global exploration. Upon returning home, she became an academic counselor for student-athletes at the University of North Carolina.

To manage the stress of her job, Lee started training in Krav Maga, an Israeli-based self-defense system. She quickly became passionate about it and trained rigorously. By 2015, she achieved certification as an instructor from The Wingate Institute in Israel, the birthplace of Krav Maga. Today, she owns and operates her own martial arts school, The Coalition NC.