Lock Cee Mangum’s unique storytelling capacity and love for creative expression was nurtured and refined while growing up on the streets of Raleigh-Durham and New York City. His interest in international studies prompted his extensive travels in Asia and Latin America. As an off-and-on resident of Japan for over twenty years, he was a language instructor of English and Spanish and holds a CELTA from the Royal Society of Arts from Cambridge. He graduated from Long Island University.