Learning From Baron Davis' Exceptional Business & Creative Talent to Attempt to Drive Impact for Professional Athletes with my Autism Non-Profit Work

All #NBA fans know about Baron Davis ' exceptional talent as a National Basketball Association (NBA) two-time All Star. As noted by the exceptional leaders that put together FutureLAND , Baron was constantly "listening, learning, networking, and connecting" both on the court and off during his NBA career, which ignited a successful post-NBA business career. "Baron is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and creator of thought-provoking content and digital platforms....Through the process of being his own agent, he fast-forwarded in the role of being a business owner. He decided to use his platform and the knowledge he gained to support others by investing and funding entrepreneurs and start-ups that he believes in, including those created to impact society and encourage change. Davis has also become an outspoken advocate for financial literacy, ed-tech, and VC leaders from underrepresented communities." [FTNT1]

With all that in mind, it was an exceptional privilege to be able to learn from Baron Davis . The first comment Baron made to me after we met related to the creative way he views any situation; that creative approach (IMHO) is part of what has made him so successful, and I feel it was an extraordinary opportunity for me to learn from that perspective. Baron advised me (...as part of imbuing my process of growing my Autism non-profit work....) to look at the intuitive, accessible software that has been developed for the 1 in 5 students in the US with a learning difference and 1 in 10 multilingual learners. (Based on his advice, I have subsequently begun that research.)

We also discussed my work to grow TravelingWiki.com, a free educational website detailing resources at US airports supporting the Autism community, with a focus in athletics specifically on augmenting travel-related resources for those affected by Autism who work in basketball (and/or athletics more generally, including families of athletes that have neurodiverse children). The conversation included references to the extraordinary experience I had to learn recently from Jeffrion Aubry, Executive Director, Next Gen Basketball Players Union (National Basketball Association (NBA)) (see a summary of my conversation at https://alturl.com/h8su3) and Irumire David Okhumale , Chief Operating & Risk Officer, at the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) ( National Basketball Association (NBA) ).

This also follows up on my discussions with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ; Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera (see https://bit.ly/3RzTQbs; including an exceptional opportunity to learn from Josh Winkler , a senior policy advisor for the Lt. Gov. as documented at https://alturl.com/xz9v7); Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (see https://alturl.com/wsx27); and engagement with Josue Bonilla, Marie Trottier, Patrick Dunn & Alfredo Crespo, including via the recent 21st Annual TSA Disability & Multicultural Coalition (among other important discussions), as we attempt to connect TSA Cares with TravelingWiki.com (see, e.g., https://alturl.com/h2rqu).

Thank you so much to Baron for this opportunity. Thank you as well to Aaron D. Marks ; but for your work and the work of so many others in Cleveland to facilitate the continued growth of Cleveland as an emerging innovation hub (including via FutureLAND ), I suspect this conversation (and the conversations with Mayors Bibb & Lucas as noted at https://alturl.com/n3e7r) would not have occurred. As someone who grew up and learned in exceptional schools in Northeast Ohio, I feel it is always such a privilege to engage within Cleveland; thanks again Baron.

FTNT1: See https://www.futurelandcle.com/speakers.

Valeria Tineo Charron Leeper Justin M. Bibb Quinton Lucas Detavio Samuels #travelindustry #travel #aviation #neurodiversity