THE EVEREST Leadership Academy
Result of Your Life = 
Education x Effort x Attitude

About Us

Mission

The Everest Leadership Academy is all about your pursuit of excellence and your development as a leader - in school, at home, in your community, and in your future careers.

For those who may not start out with all the advantages, The Everest Leadership Academy intends to make a difference. The Academy proposition is that the early formative years are most critical as there will be defining moments (inflections points) which will define who we are later on in life. At the Academy we help young people scale new heights and enjoy the climb by embracing and recognizing those defining moments.

We embrace academic education taught in the classroom (the hard IQ skills) and focus on developing the social character (the soft EQ leadership skills) that prepares people to succeed. We fully understand that knowledge by itself is not enough - it's the wise use of knowledge that matters.

Wade Boggs best describes the essence of the Academy's teachings - "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but the attitude we bring to life. It's all up to each of us to take what we're given and maximize our success and happiness." We should not be constrained by our circumstances. The condition of one's life should not determine the outcome of one's life. It's where we should all have an equal opportunity to achieve and succeed based on our ability and willingness to put in hard work. We can't ignore the unfortunate reality that many young people don't have the ability and freedom to make these choices in their lives. The Everest Leadership Academy is our humble effort to level the playing field by helping build new bridges to the American Dream for young people who may not start out with all the advantages.

The Founder's life story is emblematic of his three defining moments:

  • The six-grade math teacher - a pat on the back indicating I had a gift for math.
  • Cardinal Hayes HS - a disciplined education and a game changing event.
  • My cousin Raymond who became my mentor and role model - a first generation American, Harvard graduate, Fulbright Scholar to Rome, Full scholarship to Columbia Law School, and deputy counsel for a fortune 500 company.

    These three defining moments (inflection points) occurred in formative years from the age of 12 to 16. The Founder is convinced had none of these events occurred he would not have gone onto college and become a serial CEO and leader.

What We Do

We affiliate with schools and non-profit organizations and provide value-added services that complement and augment the value and benefits they provide to their students and community members. For example, we provide Mentors and Roundtable Leadership Workshop Moderators who have extensive been there and done that experience in their career leadership roles; Field Trips to community businesses and other academic institutions; assisting, if necessary, in establishing a Leadership Club where one does not exist; offering extensive networking opportunities, and providing Merit Based Scholarship Grants to eligible Academy members in need of financial assistance.

We are also available to participate in corporate and academic forums on a larger scale where a moderator and the Academy founder conduct a one-on-one interview in front of large audiences. The Founder’s book entitled “My Life’s Journey as a CEO and Mentor” and the lessons learned are the essence of the forum.

Team

Raymond V. Sozzi, Sr.

Raymond V. Sozzi, Sr.
Founder and CEO

Sean Timmins

Sean Timmins
Director of Technology and Business Development

Michael Sozzi

Michael Sozzi
Director of Student Life

Advisory Board

Greg Taylor

Greg Taylor
Operating Exec, Board Member, Investor



Marcia Radosevich
Entrepreneur, Healthcare IT Investor and Advisor


Dave Fall
Digital Media and Operations Executive,
Chief Executive Officer
Brand Networks, LLC


Eliot Powell
Chief Investment Officer for the City of Baltimore.

Aramide O. Olaniyan
Associate,
Summit Partners

Chitra Sridhar
Product Management,
QA Lead