After graduating college, Leggett followed his passion for education. In 1975, he started as an education planner for the Baltimore City Public Schools. In 1980, Leggett joined Anne Arundel County Public Schools as the supervisor of educational planning and student demographics. From 1987 to 1989, Leggett was the Executive Director of the Anne Arundel County Housing Authority. From 1989 to 1999, Leggett served as a Campus Planner and Academic Advisor with Anne Arundel Community College. Maryland Governor William Donald Schafer appointed Leggett to the Anne Arundel County Board of Education for a 5-year term. Leggett was elected vice president and president of the board during his tenure from 1988 to 1993.

In 1990, Legget founded The Leggett Group USA, a consulting firm in Annapolis that specializes in government regulations, public affairs, and advocacy. Legett is the organization’s President and CEO. He uses his expertise and knowledge in government affairs and environmental advocacy as a regulated lobbyist in the Maryland General Assembly, where he focuses explicitly on equity educational funding, natural gas, oil and clean energy, the environment, and historical and cultural preservation. 

In 1984, Legget began the Blacks of the Chesapeake Project. This initiative promotes the conservation and preservation of the environment while highlighting African-American maritime achievements and facilitating the economic success of the marine and seafood industries in the Chesapeake Bay region. This project became the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation (BOCF), which Leggett founded in 1999. In 2000, Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation received designation as a Local Legacy Project by the Library of Congress and the United States Congress.

In 1994, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recruited Leggett to become coordinator of special projects in the DNR’s Chesapeake Bay Program Division in Annapolis, Maryland. Leggett was the Coordinator of the Patapsco-Back River Tributary Team at DNR. This urban-based team comprised volunteer participants representing diverse interests, state and federal agency staff, and local governments. The team was established to bring Chesapeake Bay clean-up goals down to the local level, encouraging all stakeholders to participate actively in restoring their local rivers and the bay. He also continues to develop educational and experiential programs for youth through the BOCF. In 2000, Leggett used his resources at the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation to create the “Exploring the Chesapeake Bay Through Ebony Eyes” program, which promotes cultural history and the environment with students in K-12 programs and undergraduate and graduate schools.

The Blacks of the Chesapeake curriculum created by Leggett has been used in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the District of Columbia school systems. In 1997, Leggett published his first book, Blacks of the Chesapeake: An Integral Part of Maritime History, and in 1999, he published his second book, The Chesapeake Bay through Ebony Eyes. In 2002, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening appointed Leggett an Honorary Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay. This commission is the highest honor that the state of Maryland can bestow upon a private individual in the environmental field.

In 2002, Leggett co-founded the Chesapeake Ecology Center (CEC). The CEC shares office space with the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation and both organizations are housed at the J. Albert Adams Academy. J. Albert Adams Academy is an alternative education middle school on a beautiful 10-acre campus along College Creek in Annapolis. The CEC’s conservation landscape demonstration sites and urban environmental educational programs are designed to reach underserved communities. Leggett has partnered with organizations, such as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s School of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Maryland’s Coastal Bays National Estuary Program, and Hampton University’s Minorities at Sea Program, to encourage minorities to see themselves within the environmental field. He has also worked to define career opportunities for minorities through workshops, seminars, and field trips through the BOCF.  

In 2005, Leggett received a nomination by the Annapolis Mayor and Council to the Maritime Hall of Fame. In his years of working with urban neighborhoods and among communities of color in the Baltimore-Washington area, Leggett has encountered challenges in reaching minority populations and debunking the myth that the Chesapeake Bay is simply a playground for the wealthy. He has raised interest in Bay culture and fostered awareness of such issues as toxins, community right-to-know, and environmental justice. He encourages hands-on restoration work to enhance community participation and demonstrate their concerns with the state of their environment despite often being overlooked.

After working in the education and environmental disciplines for over 40 years, Leggett feels government agencies and all environmental organizations—including his own should expand minority and urban outreach efforts, develop inclusive policies, and improve resource allocations. Despite the challenges of bringing together diverse stakeholders, Leggett remains committed to his work in the environmental field and hopes “…to be a beacon of light and hope to other minorities” (2005).

Leggett has also served on various boards and alliances. He is a Board Member at the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center, where he focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, and historical and cultural preservation. To advance his skills and knowledge, Leggett completed additional training at the University of Michigan with the Multi-Cultural Leadership Development Initiative and the Executive Director Development Training at the Center of Government Services at Rutgers University. Leggett also serves as Chaplain for the Fire Department in Annapolis.