About Us

We help your child find hope by providing a place to belong so they can breakthrough, achieve excellence, and make an impact.

WHAT WE DO

EMA is a 501c3 nonprofit social enterprise that knows the power of young humans. Since its founding in 2013, EMA has been on a mission to unlock the leadership potential of children from all backgrounds and inspire them to achieve greatness in sports and life by becoming their best version. EMA has catalyzed positive transformation in the community and society through its safe haven and mindfulness-promoting culture. EMA has made a meaningful impact on the world by uplifting over 3,000 young humans and empowering them to strive for their dreams. We believe our children are the future and are proud to make the world better with our leaders.

Mission

To unlock each young human's leadership potential for a lifetime of achievement and meaningful impact—in sports and life.

Vision

Sports becomes the ultimate magnet to attract ALL kids and young humans, while creating the safe-haven environment that optimally enables the development of leadership skills for life through the process of self-actualization. After graduating, these leaders will carry a framework for being a positive and productive member of society through their own unique expression of what it means to be a good person.

Our culture

EMA’s culture defines us. It is what we stand for and value as an ecosystem of people pursuing a shared mission. It is the powerful force that guides the way we work together, treat each other, and treat those around us.

EMA’s culture is our differentiator, and when it comes to life, it is our competitive advantage.

The following values create EMA’s culture of family—our superpower.

(4) CORE VALUES

Trust

Nothing is more valuable to us than the trust we cultivate with our families, team, and everyone in our ecosystem. We earn this trust through our professionalism, honesty, transparency, excellence in customer service, and asking for feedback.

Relationships

Relationships are the fabric of EMA. We create powerful relationships by cultivating raving fans, not clients, and by treating people better than they expect by exceeding their expectations. If our families, partners, and team are raving about us, then we have achieved our goal. We’ll ALWAYS value people and our relationships over profits.

Integrity

Always tell the truth. We believe that nothing is more important than our reputation—behaving with the highest levels of integrity is fundamental to who we are.

Inclusion

Working with people of different backgrounds, cultures, demographics, and thinking styles helps us grow into better professionals and leaders. We accept people as part of the EMA community when their intentions and heart align with wanting to become a good person and positively promote others' journey. We recognize and acknowledge that people are at different starting points. This means that each person is unique. However, we do not align with malintent or intentional hate that is counter to this intention.

(7) Leadership BEHAVIORS

We Develop L.E.A.D.E.R.S.

Listening

Listen with ears to hear you. Listen with eyes to see you. Listen with heart to connect with you.

Empathetic

Seek genuine connections by understanding the needs of others and being aware of their feelings, thoughts, and body language.

Accountable

Embrace mistakes to become your best version.

Daring

Engage every challenge with courage and enthusiasm by taking risks without fearing failure.

Energy-giving

Raise the confidence of others by making people feel good about themselves—every day.

Resilient

Bounce back stronger from setbacks with hope and optimism.

Self-less

Prioritize WE over me.

(4) EXPERIENCES

Positive outlook

At all levels of the organization, we exemplify our values. What we expect from each other and our students—we see the best in everyone.

Passion

We are grateful that we have a job that feels more like a life’s purpose.

Bold

We embrace going beyond our comfort zone.

Mindfulness

Our ethos gives everyone the enthusiasm and safe space to think — to be present — leading to mental agility, resilience and self-awareness.

Access and Inclusion Story

From the very first day EMA started its operations, the organization has prioritized access and inclusion. Since 2014, EMA has awarded over $500,000 in tuition assistance to over 100 student-athletes’ in need. Currently, 20% of its students receive assistance.


2014

$2,000 awarded
5 students

2015

$40,000 awarded
20 recipients

2016

$76,000 awarded
40 recipients

2017

$110,000 awarded
50 recipients

2018

$120,000 awarded
75 recipients

2019

$80,000 awarded
40 recipients

2020

$50,00 awarded
43 recipients

2021

$36,000 awarded
26 recipients

Our Founder’s Story

Coach Jerome Gumbs leads a healthy lifestyle that revolves around making sure each Student-Athlete gets the support they need to succeed on the court and in life. The responsibility he carries in doing so is his greatest privilege.

READ HIS FULL STORY

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Empower ME Academy?

Awesome. We’re about something bigger than basketball. And we want you to be a part of it.

For our son Maddox, Empower ME has been the best and most important academic or athletic after school program.

Stephen Davis
Father of Maddox Davis
(HS Class of 2021)

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Celebrating freedom, resilience, and unity this #Juneteenth. Let’s honor the past and build a brighter future together. ✊⚡️ ...

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From the very first day EMA started its operations,the organization has prioritized access and inclusion.

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