TEAM CONCEPTS - Key Persons
San Francisco-based Alden Mills began taking control of his life at age twelve, when his doctor told him to learn chess because his asthma would keep him from playing sports. His first goal was to conquer the asthma, and he went on to achieve extraordinary things in sports, academics, military service, business, and philanthropy.
Alden became a nationally ranked rower, a gold medalist in the Olympic Festival, and captain of the freshman and varsity teams at the U.S. Naval Academy. As a Navy SEAL he led his platoon through multiple missions. After discharge from the military, he founded Perfect Fitness and led it to growth of over 12,000% annual sales of $90 million, and Inc. magazine recognition as the fastest-growing consumer products in America in just three years. He developed over 40 patents, including the Perfect Pushup, Perfect Pullup, Perfect Sit-up and Perfect Ab Carver.
Alden's books include Be Unstoppable: The 8 Essential Actions to Succeed at Anything and Unstoppable Teams: The Four Essential Actions of High-Performance Leadership. He has been featured on ABC's Nightline, CBS This Morning, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and more. He serves on boards of a number of non-profits.
Aquil Abdullah is no stranger to high performance or to breaking barriers. An accomplished rower and a sailor, Aquil has leveraged his team sport skills by providing inspirational leadership lessons to those with whom he works.
Aquil competed on six US national rowing teams from 1999 through 2004. He earned a silver medal in the Men's Championship Single (1x) at the 1999 Pan Am Games and won the Diamond Challenge Sculls at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in 2000. Aquil competed at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships and was the first African American male rower to qualify for the Summer Olympics (2004) where he finished sixth in the Men's Double Sculls (2x). After retiring from rowing in 2005, Aquil raced in J105, Melges 32, and Swan 42 class sailboats. In 2008, he was on the team that won the Newport to Bermuda race in the Swan 42 class.
Abdullah's experiences in team sports as well as participation in companies both large and small led him to develop his own transformational leadership philosophy centered on listening, encouragement, and seeking out opinions contrary to your own. Aquil has put this philosophy into action through his participation in several advisory boards, committees, coaching, and volunteer work including A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund (2020 - Present, Chair); RowVigor, Advisory Board (2017-2018); Blue Water Metrics (2016 - 2020, Technical Advisor); Chicago Training Center Athlete Advisory Council (2006-2012); Community Rowing Board (2009 - 2010, Board Member); and the Boston Foundation Civic Compact (2010).
Abdullah is a 1996 graduate of The George Washington University with a degree in Physics. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts where is a Principal Software Engineer and featured athlete at Hydrow, Inc., a connected fitness company that brings the outside indoors through Live Outdoor Reality.
Captain Wendy Lawrence graduated from the Naval Academy in 1981 and earned her "Wings of Gold" in 1982. As a Navy helicopter pilot, she made several shipboard deployments to the North Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Kenya. While stationed at Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SIX (HC-6), she was one of the first two female helicopter pilots to make a long deployment to the Indian Ocean as part of a carrier battle group.
After earning a master's degree in ocean engineering from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Lawrence was selected as an astronaut in 1992 and worked at NASA for 14 years. Her technical assignments included serving as the NASA Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and as the astronaut office representative to the International Space Station program for crew training, operations, and support. A veteran of four shuttle missions (STS-67, 86, 91 and 114), she has logged over 50 days in space. Her last flight was the first Shuttle "Return to Flight" mission following the loss of the orbiter Columbia and her crew. This flight evaluated new procedures for Shuttle inspection and repair.
Currently, Captain Lawrence works part-time at Space Camp and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, informing the public about NASA's spaceflight programs and participating in STEM education programs.
Dan Lyons - CEO, Founder, President
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Member of the Leadership Team
- President
- Founder and President of Team Concepts, Inc
Dan Lyons is the Founder and President of Team Concepts, Inc. He is noted for his thought provoking seminars on a wide range of team and leadership-related topics. The genesis of Team Concepts' leadership model, The Eight Secrets of Inspirational Leadership, is based upon Dan‘s 30+ years of high performance athletic achievements, academic training, and military experience.
As an oarsman, Dan rowed on seven US National Teams. He won a World Championship in 1986 and competed in the Seoul Olympics (1988). Dan was inducted into the US Rowing Hall of Fame in 1997. His professional coaching career includes positions at the US Naval Academy, Oxford, Stanford, Drexel, Georgetown, and as an elite coach for the Penn Athletic Club in Philadelphia.
Dan‘s leadership skills are also a product of his military history training and service. He received his BS from the US Naval Academy, MS from Oxford University and MA from Villanova University. Dan served as an officer in the US Navy. During his service, he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
It is hard to know where to start highlighting Rear Admiral David Woods' career. Having spent his professional career in the US Navy, Dave's distinguished career speaks for itself. Starting off as a pilot, Dave's career has included leadership assignments in surface and electronic warfare, operations, personnel, strategy and planning. He served in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Woods began his current flag officer command tour in August 2012 as commander, Strike Force Training Pacific.
Woods' decorations include Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (two awards), Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Strike/Flight Air Medal (five awards), United States Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards) and various other service and unit awards. He also received the National Navy League's Vice Admiral John Perry award for excellence in Electronic Warfare.
Originally a native of Utah, Rear Admiral Woods received a BS degree from the U.S. Naval Academy. He received his master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
To any engineer, scale, complexity, and experience matter. As the County Engineer and Director of Engineering and Public Works Department for Palm Beach County, Florida, David Ricks ultimately provides vital services to a population base close to 1.5 million. He leads a team of over 450 personnel with an operating budget of over $60M and a capital program of almost $300M. To 1.5 million residents, the smooth and safe operation of the county's transportation system reflects Dave's leadership technique gained through 30+ years of organizational management, construction management and infrastructure experience. Lifting and leading a team that size to serve so many is no easy task.
Dave didn't get to Palm Beach County without first making things better at a smaller scale. He previously served as the Public Works Director for the City of Norfolk, Virginia, Director of Facilities and Transportation Services for Fulton County, Georgia, and the Director of the Public Works Department for Montgomery County, Ohio. Ricks cut his leadership and engineering teeth as a United States Naval Officer for 22 years as a Civil Engineering Corps Officer. He served in Washington, D.C., Yokosuka, Japan, Central Florida, and Iwakuni, Japan. He retired at the rank of Commander.
Lifting people up is just a short extension from one of Dave's passions also requiring practicing good technique. He is 30-time National and 10-time World Powerlifting Champion holding numerous state, national, and world records. David has been inducted into both the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame and the USA Powerlifting Men's Hall of Fame. He is a lifetime drug free athlete and has been competing for over 40 years. Dave is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chief Learning Officer / Director of Leadership Development & Curriculum Design
- Life of a College Instructor
Dr. Michael Nicholls has lived the life of a college instructor, athletic coach, consultant and business professional. His combination of unique academic and business skills have been tested through his work in the corporate and governmental environments. An economic geographer by training, Michael has worked on high profile projects for The World Bank, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Energy and American Express. He has taught leadership development at the university graduate, undergraduate, and executive education levels.
Michael's service and commitment to teaching, student life, inspirational leadership and the sport of rowing was recognized in 1998 when the University of North Carolina named their boathouse in his honor. He claims all aspects of his professional life intersected in 2016 when the building's name first appeared on a Google Map.
Michael received his B.S. in Political Science and Geography from the University of Minnesota. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Economic Geography. He is the author of The Inspirational Leadership Workbook: A Practical Guide to Leadership Development.
Jesse Wilson is Director, Navy Maritime Team Lead in U.S. Government Integrated Solutions (USGIS) of the Requirements & Capabilities (R&C) Organization for Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S). RI&S is one of the four businesses of Raytheon Technologies. Jesse supports all Raytheon Intelligence & Space leaders and Naval product lines, their capability generation, and capability gap closure, and is responsible for the company's strategic relationships and messaging with Naval Senior Leadership. He works closely with Naval, Joint, and International Partners in defining operational requirements, identifying emerging technologies, and providing integrated solutions for the maritime naval domain. Jesse also works closely in developing strategic goals, synchronizing efforts across the four Raytheon businesses, and developing objectives for business growth in both core and adjacent markets.
Prior to joining Raytheon, Jesse was Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, responsible for the manning, training, and equipping of the 70+ ships of the Atlantic Fleet and Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland. Jesse retired from the U.S. Navy after 33 years of service. His foundational jobs in the operating forces was as a naval surface warfare officer where he commanded Carrier Strike Group Ten/USS DWIGHT D EISENHOWER CVN-69 Carrier Strike Group during a combat deployment, Destroyer Squadron Two-Three, and USS HIGGINS DDG-76. Ashore Jesse also served as Director, Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization - Joint Staff J8, and was the Director of the Navy Assessment Division, N81 on the OPNAV Staff.
Jesse is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Math), U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA (Operations Research), and U.S. Naval War College (National Security and Strategic Studies). He is also a graduate of the Navy Corporate Business School, UVA Darden, and a MIT Seminar XXI Fellow.
Lori Reynolds retired as a three-star General from the United States Marine Corps and served as a board member who most recently developed, led, and managed the Corp's $12B global information portfolio spanning intelligence, IT, networking, cyber security, space, and information. Lori served on the USMC Corporate Board with responsibility for strategic oversight of a $50B budget and global strategy, capabilities, and missions. She regularly reported to and was accountable to Congressional committees on risk, cybersecurity, and strategy. She serves on board transformation, cyber security, risk, and DEI committees.
As the most senior woman in the USMC for nearly a decade - and only the third woman to achieve her rank - Lori is recognized for her ability to identify and retain diverse, global, workforces to deliver innovation and value. No longer wearing a uniform, she currently helps complex global organizations manage large-scale risk and transform operational information into strategic business intelligence assets.
General Reynolds is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (BA, Political Science), Naval War College (MS Strategic Studies), Army War College (MS National Security Affairs) and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Executive Development Course. She is the Inaugural Recipient of the Admiral Grace Hopper Award presented by the National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace as well as a recipient of the 2020 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chief Teambuilding Officer
Developed through a strong background in business and law, Richard Kennelly has extensive public speaking and corporate leadership experience. Before coming to Team Concepts, Richard Kennelly was a business entrepreneur and "recovering" environmental attorney specializing in sustainability, renewable energy and climate policy. Once he arrived, we harnessed his skills as a facilitator to make corporate team building connections.
Richard was a founder of BigBelly Solar in 2003. BigBelly Solar is the maker of the award-winning BigBelly intelligent waste and recycling collection system now found in 23 countries. Prior to BigBelly, Richard served as Director of the Energy Project at the Conservation Law Foundation where he was actively engaged in shaping clean energy policy for legislative and regulatory proceedings. Richard holds a B.A. with honors in English and American Literature from Harvard University, a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and a Master of Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
Befitting his overall commitment to high performance, Richard won a silver medal in rowing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He also represented the United States at the 1989 (silver) and 1991 World Championships as well as the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games (4th).