Meet Dr. Shawn Harris
Scholar Practitioner. Leadership Strategist. Organizational Builder. National Speaker.
Dr. Shawn Harris is a Sports Leadership and Organizational Transformation Executive whose work spans military service, corporate leadership, collegiate athletics, higher education, research, entrepreneurship, organizational development, writing, teaching, speaking, and community leadership.
What distinguishes Dr. Harris is not any single credential or experience. It is the combination of scholarship and demonstrated execution across multiple environments where people, performance, accountability, adversity, culture, competition, education, opportunity, and organizational systems intersect.
Different Environments. The Same Work.
Dr. Harris has studied leadership. He has taught leadership. He has written about leadership. He has built organizations. He has led organizations. He has developed curriculum. He has created leadership-development systems. And he has produced measurable academic, organizational, and championship outcomes.
What differentiates Dr. Harris is the combination of scholarship and demonstrated execution. The research informs the practice. The practice informs the research. The result is a leadership perspective that is both intellectually grounded and operationally tested.
From the discipline of the United States Marine Corps to the complexity of collegiate athletics administration, from the classroom to the boardroom, the work has always been the same: develop the people, strengthen the culture, align the systems, and produce results.
The Marine Corps Didn't Just Train Him. It Formed Him.
Dr. Harris served in the United States Marine Corps as a member of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, earning multiple military medals and recognitions and being meritoriously promoted to Corporal, E-4.
The values instilled through military service — discipline, accountability, standards, adaptability, mission focus, teamwork, and responsibility — are not decorative elements of his biography. They are the operating system behind every organization he has built and every leader he has developed.
One Coherent Story.
Native of Berlin, Maryland. 1992 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School.
United States Marine Corps veteran. 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Meritoriously promoted to Corporal, E-4. Multiple military medals and recognitions.
Leadership experience with Walmart and Target: operations, people development, accountability, and execution at scale.
University professor. University Curriculum Chair at Westcliff University. Creator of the Sports Management concentration. Led the concentration through the university's accreditation and academic approval process.
Founding Dean of Athletics at Westcliff University. Built an athletics organization with 26 teams, 70+ coaches, and approximately 495 student-athletes. 47 championships in four years. 8 national championships.
Ph.D. from Concordia University Chicago. Dissertation: "How Collegiate Student-Athletes Navigate Athletic and Academic Demands."
Five-book body of work available on Audible. Driven Over Given. The Five Pillars of the Unbreakable Leader. If What God Placed on Me Makes You Uncomfortable. The Invoice of Greatness. The Wilderness Behind the Calling.
CEO of Firm Grip Consulting Group LLC. Founder of Driven Over Given Inc. Founder of Shawn360AI LLC. Creator of the U.N.B.R.E.A.K.A.B.L.E. Leadership Model.
Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Prince Hall Mason. 32nd Degree Scottish Rite. Husband and father of three.
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