6/29/18 Rising Leaders ft Steve Kakuani, James Riley (Seattle Sounders, MLS), Romeo Travis (Pro Basketball) and Victoria Baryl (Aspire)

Steve Zakuani was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, moving to London when he was four years old. His soccer career started early in life playing for the Arsenal youth academy in London for five years, then attending the University of Akron on a soccer scholarship. In 2009, Zakuani’s professional soccer career began with the Seattle Sounders FC. He was drafted by the Major League Soccer expansion club as the first pick of the first round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.

Romeo Travis – former member of Fab 5 high school team alongside LeBron James, current 10+ year professional basketball player in Europe.

James Riley – Former Major League Soccer star and current Seattle Sounders analyst.

Victoria Baryl – account manager at Gibson Media and director of Aspire.

In six years as a professional, Steve Zakuani made well over 100 appearances in MLS but his career was cut short due to injury. Since retiring from soccer, Steve has stayed involved in the game through coaching individuals and running soccer clinics. As active as he was on the field during his career, Steve was just as active off it.

Steve Zakuani founded Kingdom Hope in 2010, a nonprofit whose programs inspire individuals to develop their talents and become leaders. He is also a prolific public speaker and has spoken to churches, businesses, sports teams, community groups, high schools, and universities on topics such as leadership, goal setting, teamwork, and overcoming adversity. Steve’s first book, 500 Days was released in January 2015 and it chronicles his return from a career-threatening injury to the field. When he isn’t coaching, speaking, or writing, Steve likes to travel, watch movies, and read books. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington.

Our passion for producing leaders is on full display at our annual end of year event: Rising Leaders. Through this event, we inspire hundreds of aspiring and established leaders by motivating them to believe that they are capable of making a significant contribution to the community and the world before they die. At Rising Leaders, we focus on equipping, inspiring, and challenging individuals and companies to climb to the next level in their personal and corporate leadership. We provide practical teaching and information that leave a lasting impression on all attendants. We have seen the impact of this event grow every year as we have now served hundreds of executive directors, aspiring athletes, teachers, young professionals, students, teenagers, and many more. We have no doubts that Rising Leaders will soon gather recognition as one of the nation’s premier leadership events.

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