MEET THE 2021 SUMMER LEADERSHIP PROJECT PRESENTERS
Tracy Alston is a mental fitness consultant, a licensed clinical mental health counselor, board certified in Biofeedback and neurofeedback by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA), a radio host for the Mental Fitness Matters show on WSIC radio station that airs weekly on Thursdays from 8:30 am to 9:00 a.m. on 105.9, 100.7FM, 1400AM.
Tracy is the Founder and CEO of two companies located in Mooresville, N.C., New Mentality and Mental Edge Fitness Solutions, Inc.
Tracy’s passion is creating innovative strategies and solutions for improving the mental health and mental fitness of her clients, companies and the world. Tracy draws on her extensive training as well as her own athletic experience to help her clients. A graduate of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Alston earned top academic honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She attended Wake Forest on a full athletic scholarship, playing four years in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a shooting guard and small forward on the Wake Forest women’s basketball team. During her basketball career, she received the Distinguished All ACC-Defender award. She also holds a dual master’s degree in community agency counseling with school licensure from Lenoir-Rhyne University, in Hickory, N.C., where she also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach.
Tracy’s academic, athletic and professional experiences have allowed her the opportunity to work with people from all over the world. Throughout her experiences and by working with people from all walks of life and on all levels of success, Tracy has come to realize that the biggest factor for people performing at their peak is their mind and their mental fitness.
Jennifer Shiley, known to friends and family as “Shiley”, is the Managing Partner of Love Progress Park, a company with the mission to empower and equip people throughout the world to realize their fullest potential and inspire others. She is the Founder of #SeeHerLead, a leadership club designed for teenage girls headquartered near Charlotte, NC, and Chairs the Board of the Sonny Carter Foundation serving communities by enhancing the visibility, education, and advancement of individuals facing social and socioeconomic inequalities. Shiley substitute teaches all grade levels, meets and speaks with youth groups, advocates for the LBGTQ+ community, and Coaches the See Her Lead-Davidson Lead Group. As a Philadelphia area native, Shiley's drive pairs well with cheesesteaks, ocean getaways, and the occasional trash-talking.
Shiley is formerly a full-time teacher who holds a Master's of Education from Kutztown University as well as two Bachelor's degrees from Bloomsburg University in Education and Psychology. She was a member of Sigma Tau Delta (Honors English fraternity), NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars), and Phi Delta Kappa (Honors Education fraternity), and a scholarship athlete who captained the Bloomsburg University women's varsity basketball team.
Though Shiley’s athletic ability is not what it used to be, she still tries to convince her boys Taylor (15) and Jordan (6) she’s the best at all the things. Her partner and Davidson College Women’s Lacrosse Coach, Kim Wayne, does not play along but does provide the unconditional love that keeps their home happy and time together as a family pretty awesome.
Mike Clark has trained hundreds of High School, Collegiate and Professional Athletes - adding muscle and power properly, while maintaining speed and mobility. He is also Dry Land Specialist, safely training elite swimmers to become more explosive athletes in the water.
Michael is originally from Atlanta, GA. He played football and baseball at Campbell High School. He converted over to football his sophomore year where he played nose guard, and led his team to their first state playoff appearance in 2007.
He continued his football career at Jacksonville State as a preferred walk-on, earning himself a full scholarship the next year playing Defensive Line. He majored in Exercise Physiology and minored in Nutrition. During his football career he helped Jacksonville achieve two conference championships and was part of the 2010 team that beat Ole Miss in double OT. After suffering a career-ending injury his senior season, rupturing his Patella Tendon, he continued as a Student-Assistant Coach for Tight Ends for the remainder of the year.
After graduating in 2011, he received his Masters in Physical Education: Option of Exercise and Wellness at Eastern Kentucky University. During his time at EKU, he was a Graduate Assistant in the Strength and Conditioning facility at Kentucky Adapted Physical Education (KAPE), where he helped children with disabilities.
He was also the Head Strength Coach for Track and Field, Competition Squads, Tennis, and Women’s Golf. He completed an internship at Kennesaw State University assisting with their Strength and Conditioning program before graduating with his Masters in 2013.
Michael recently finished his tenure at Champions Sports Performance, based out of Lake Norman, NC, where he was Director of Sports Performance for six years.
He is a member of National Strength CA and holds a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, USAW- level 1, Performance Enhancement Specialist, and Parisi Speed Specialist Certification.
Erin Harris Coaching offers life and leadership coaching to females who are ready to become leaders of the lives they desire. She partners with her clients to identity challenges, design a clear path forward, and help them find their voices to overcome what is holding them back.
Erin is a Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, a former executive in the sports and entertainment industry, and an advocate for empowering women leaders.
Erin partners with clients who are ready to take their ideas to the next level. She engages clients both one-on-one and within their organizations. In a one-on-one setting, she will work with you both personally and professionally to define your vision, develop your strategy, hone in on your leadership style, and create your definition of success. Within an organization, she will also work with your team to operate from a unified place and motivate them towards a shared goal.
Katie was born to bring vibrant life & unwavering acceptance, in the hopes you find that for yourself. Her platform for this is movement, words & stories. Movement is FREEDOM physically & mentally, but for many, there's a great fear/intimidation in it. Katie create an environment that breaks down those barriers & restrictions & CONNECTS PEOPLE. bloc is the beautiful space she and her tribe built to make it all happen. Charlotte has always been, and always will be, home for Katie. But, she believes we don’t have to call just one place home. At first glance Katie describes herself as awkward & unassumingly quiet but swears she doesn’t bite.
Dani Angell plays many roles in life, just a few of which include being a National Geographic Certified Educator, Fitness Instructor, Middle School Teacher, Published and Award-Winning Photographer, Visual Storyteller, Life-Long Learner, Wife, and Mother. She is deeply passionate about connection and compassion, cultivating and capturing happiness, seeking out miracles of the moment, and inspiring others to break free from comfort zones to live in their highest potential. She believes the camera is one of the best tools for self-discovery and revelation through a process of looking out with intention to reveal what lies within and loves sharing this process with others.
Will Grier is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and West Virginia Mountaineers, and was drafted by the Panthers in the third round in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Grier attended Southlake Christian Academy in Huntersville, NC, then transferred to Davidson Day School in Davidson, NC. As a junior, he threw for a national record 837 yards in a game, breaking the old record of 764. As a senior, he had 4,989 passing yards with a nation-leading and North Carolina record 77 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,251 yards with 13 touchdowns. He was named the Parade All-American Player of the Year and Mr. Football USA. For his career, Grier had 14,565 passing yards, a state record 195 touchdown passes, 2,955 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns.
Bio credit wikipedia
Mallory Shaw is a Mindset and Alignment coach, teaching women to live freedom-filled, purposeful and powerful lives. Her passion for seeing women thrive and return to their original wholeness is why she’s been volunteering with See Her Lead for the past 5 years - to see all girls live with the courage to lead!
Currently residing on the West Coast, Mallory loves spending her time out in nature and venturing out for weekend road trips! She spends a lot of time Face-timing with her family who reside in Charlotte, NC or spending time investing in herself through reading, exercise and self love - her favorite self care practice is gratitude journaling, EFT Tapping or browsing the makeup isle for a new lip gloss. Mallory’s mantra is the more fun I have, the more success I see.
Nzingha started her career in higher education in 2013, as an office assistant to the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) Academy at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2014, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to take a position at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), where she continues to work with students in the BLET Academy. Currently, she serves as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Coordinator at CPCC’s Merancas Campus.
As a CTE Coordinator, she is a liaison between CPCC, the community, and Charlotte- Mecklenburg School System’s CTE programs. Her role allows her to share the many opportunities CPCC has to offer and help students transition from secondary to post-secondary and the workforce.
Through her role, Nzingha has found her passion for career and technical education and understands how it can transform the lives of families. She truly understands the connection between education, workforce development and economic mobility. It is her long term goal to continue working in higher education and assist in empowering young people and their goals. Her love for people and education is what has driven her to pursue a doctorate degree in Adult and Community College Leadership at North Carolina State University.
Most importantly, Nzingha is a proud wife to her husband Michael and mother to two fur babies, Roscoe (pug) and Bella (boxer mix). Her hobbies include traveling, dancing, singing, and spending time with family and friends. She is a focused and fun professional. Her passion is felt through conversation and expressed in her work.
Danielle Ratliff has fourteen years of professional wellness experience and thirty-seven years of life experience rising from the ashes of trauma, mental illnesses, and societal expectations.
The elusive feeling known as joy appeared as she accepted her light and shadow, followed her heart, listened to her body, and prioritized self-care. Now she empowers and guides others with virtual mind- body-spirit resources so they can rise above overwhelm and consciously create joy.
She is a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. Danielle provided nutrition & behavioral modification counseling as a Registered Dietitian for six years before transitioning to hands-on therapy as a Licensed Massage Therapist. In 2012, she took a leap of faith and acquired a start-up massage practice in Cornelius, North Carolina with no prior business experience. Under her leadership, Serenity Now Massage Therapy grew from a team of three massage therapists to a well-respected practice of fifteen. Together, they provided relief from chronic pain and stress to more than 11,000 clients and received the Normy Award for Best Massage from Lake Norman Publications in 2017 and 2018.
Danielle juggled the small business and teaching Anatomy & Physiology at the NC Massage School from 2014 to 2015. She hosted a weekly holistic wellness talk radio show with WSIC 105.9 FM from 2018 to 2019 and was an expert contributor with Cornelius Lakeside Living Magazine. She lifts others as a business coach and sponsor of See Her Lead, a leadership club for middle and high school girls.
Behind the scenes, she manages high-functioning anxiety dating back to childhood and post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a rape and suicide attempt in 2011. She navigated two divorces and came out as a member of the LGBTQ community in 2019. Danielle shares her journey publicly through social media, writing, and speaking to assist in normalizing discussions of mental health.
Danielle has been recognized as a leading entrepreneur, receiving the ACHI Magazine Editor’s Choice Award in 2019 and their Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2018. Mecklenburg Times named her one of their 50 Most Influential Women in 2017. She was chosen as one of Lake Norman’s 100 Most Powerful Women by the Huntersville Herald in 2015 and received a Lake Norman Woman Magazine’s Women of Will Finalist Award in 2013.
The pandemic’s economic effects led to her selling the massage practice at the end of 2020, but every transition provides an opportunity for new beginnings. Admittedly, much of Danielle’s prior journey revolved around productivity, people-pleasing, and external achievement. Now, she trusts the process of spiritual awakening and is grateful for life’s unexpected twists and synchronistic blessings. She and her girlfriend, Sheran, live in Gastonia, North Carolina, where they enjoy spending time in nature, loving on their furbabies, and making joyful memories with Sheran’s four-year-old son.
Joyful Rising is an evolving work in progress, but the current long-term vision is an interactive website and virtual community with mind-body-spirit articles, podcasts, and guided meditations. Perhaps we can create a kinder world by embracing our most authentic, joyful selves and being a light for others.
Meredith Dean manages Seacrest Studios, Arts for Life, & Music Therapy at Levine Children’s Hospital and is the CEO/Founder of The Dean's List. Meredith's 9-5 and 5-9 helped her become one of Charlotte's 30 Under 30 and UGA's 40 Under 40 Leaders. When wearing her entertainment industry hat, she creates uplifting programming for pediatric patients at Seacrest Studios, a radio/tv station located in Levine Children's Hospital in conjunction with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. Her multimedia experiences have spanned from CNN, FOX, and CBS to a travel agency in France. As an entrepreneur focused on empowering others, she created her digital branding and career consulting company, The Dean’s List, to help professionals get their dream jobs by building personal websites and enhancing their online presence. A portion of profits go to Habitat Aid Initiative, her family's non-profit which builds sustainable communities, clinics, girls’ schools, and wells in the Western Kenya area. Outside of building digital brands for clients worldwide, TDL hosts diverse events focused on building community including Dinners, Meetups, EmpowerCon, and 20 Under 20. She also hosts an Instagram Live show and Zoom panels on Mondays, TGIM, which features inspirational professionals to provide nuggets of career knowledge, build your network, and start your week off right. Her mission is to help young professionals get their dream jobs, to bring inspiring client's stories to life in a digital format, and empower everyone.
DJ Habitz was born Brandon J. Aaron in the beautiful city of Charlotte, North Carolina. Habitz is a graduate of Clinton College with his Associates degree in Science and North Carolina Central University receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Art studying Mass Communication.
Brandon’s passion for music began early at the age of 4. During high school, Brandon ventured into making mixtapes for his classmates and teachers. Brandon has had the opportunity to DJ for colleges, basketball games, BET, comedy shows, festivals and musical artists.
The HEROwn Story Project is a 3-day fun and inspirational workshop using Love Progress Park's T.A.E.L.R. method (Think Act Experience Learn Reach) to teach emotional intelligence, goal setting, self-care, physical fitness, accountability, and so much more for the purpose of motivating girls to write the next year’s story of their lives with themselves as the HERO at the end.