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Melahni Ake shares her own influences that have shaped the way she leads today and how she has come to create the Everyday Leaders Platform. Throughout her life and career, Melahni has been striving to show up and add value to others, and she lives out her purpose by supporting leaders to grow and develop. Her Podcast Everyday Leaders 50 in 50 was set up to showcase those people who are making a difference through their leadership.
Click here to see Melahni and her company’s “about” page.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- Why she became a John Maxwell Leadership Coach
- Interviewing 50 “Everyday Leaders” during her 50th birthday year
- Making great connections
- … and so much more!!!
Darrin Gray serves as President and CEO of The Lions Lead. Darrin has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in communications, media, branding, sports philanthropy and non-profit sectors and has managed annual budgets as large as $40,000,000. Based upon his work with All Pro Dad, the national non-profit founded by Tony Dungy, Darrin is recognized as a thought leader and speaker on the topics of family, fatherhood, mentoring and leadership. Darrin co-authored The Jersey Effect, Beyond the World Championship, and supports his community by serving on non-profit boards and as the President of the Center for Serving Leadership at the Sagamore Institute, an action-oriented think tank. Darrin has a unique window into the National Football League by virtue of his day-to-day involvement with All Pro Dad, Family First’s national fatherhood program cofounded by Tony Dungy and Clyde Christensen. Darrin interacts with NFL athletes, coaches, and alumni that serve as spokesmen for All Pro Dad, and he has conducted programming with over half of the NFL franchises. He develops innovative partnership strategies to reach families via special events, broadcast, and new media with the assistance of media partners and corporate sponsors. He conceptualized The Jersey Effect years ago when he wondered what motivated some athletes like Tony Dungy to use their professional platform in sports, their jersey, to make a positive impact both on and off the field. A few years later he invited NFL punter Hunter Smith, while he was still playing in the NFL, to coauthor the book and to help him explore the many ways that sports shape culture, with the help of his world champion teammates and coaches. 
(originally posted on April 1, 2016)