RON CLARK

Ron Clark has been called "America's Educator." In 2000, he was named Disney's American Teacher of the Year. He is a New York Times Best Selling author, and his classes have been honored at the White House on three separate occasions. Ron's teaching experiences in New York City are the subject of the uplifting film, “The Ron Clark Story”, starring Matthew Perry.

When Ron saw a TV show about low test scores and the lack of teachers in inner-city New York, he packed his car and headed to Harlem. After being warned by the principal that the class was the worst she had seen in terms of discipline, Ron prepared himself by visiting the home of each student before the first day of school. Ron Clark involved his students in projects around the city and state, and his "low achievers" soon began to excel; and by the end of the year, their scores were higher than the “gifted” classes in his district.

As Ron speaks to groups around the country, he tells of the uncanny adventures he has had in the classroom and of his experiences teaching in Harlem. Within his humorous and heartwarming stories, he delivers a message that pertains to all of us. It is a message of hope, dedication and the will to never let anything stand in the way of your goals or dreams.

Quinton Aaron

Aaron was born in the Bronx, New York City and raised in Augusta, Georgia by his mother, the late Laura Aaron, author of the book Leave Me Alone. Quinton started his acting debut in a Christmas play at age 9. Quinton made his film debut as "The Lion King guy" in Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, starring Mos Def and Jack Black. He also appeared in Fighting with Channing Tatum and Terrance Howard and co-starred in a NYU thesis short film called Mr. Brooklyn directed by Jason Sokoloff. Quinton has appeared in two episodes of the hit TV show Law & Order.

Quinton starred in his first lead role as Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, alongside Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw in The Blind Side, which was released on November 20, 2009. Directed by John Lee Hancock, the film was adapted from Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which features the real-life story of Michael Oher.
On March 24, 2010, Quinton guest-starred with Jill Scott in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Quinton has received three awards in 2010 for his work in "The Blind Side" including the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Best Actor.

Melanie Roach

Shattering the stereotypical body image of weightlifters, the petite former gymnast quickly made it clear that strong things come in small packages! She soon had become the #1 ranked US weightlifter and the first one in history to clean and jerk more the twice her body weight. She was poised for a 2000 Olympic debut.

Devastatingly, weeks before the Olympic Trials competition Melanie suffered a serious back injury. Her Olympic dreams, along with any future in the sport, appeared to be suddenly over. 
In the summer of 2005, Melanie decided that it's never too late to chase your dreams. She returned to competitive weightlifting. By March of 2006 she reclaimed her spot on the US National Team and won her 6th US National Championship. She went on to place 12th at the World Championships and earned her 7th US National Championship (2007) after she clean/jerked twice her own body weight.

In August of 2007 Melanie went on to win a bronze medal at the Pam Am Games in Brazil and at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Melanie placed 6th in the 117 lb weight class, her best finish in the international competition. Her combined lifts, totaling 425.6, broke the American record set in Sydney in 2000 by over 1 lb.