A native of Henderson, NC, Jason Brown is a man of faith, a former professional athlete, and community advocate. Brown studied interpersonal communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while on an athletic scholarship. There he met the love of his life and wife, Dr. Tay Brown. 

After he graduated in 2005, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. As a free agent in 2009, Jason signed a five-year contract with the St. Louis Rams, served three, and was released in March 2012. With several lucrative offers on the table from the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and the San Francisco 49ers, Jason decided instead to take a leap of faith and walk away from the NFL. After his departure from the NFL, Jason moved back to North Carolina and purchased a 1,000-acre farm in Louisburg. 

The farm has hosted several community events, and collaborated with many faith and service organizations. The farm has yielded over two million lbs of produce which were given to food banks, pantries and churches throughout the Triangle area. 

Thousands of volunteers have lent helping hands in gleaning and harvest events. In his work through Wisdom for Life Ministries and First Fruit Farm, Jason, his wife Tay and 8 children, are demonstrating how to live a life of purpose. Jason serves as a great example of community service through agriculture

Dr. Ronald F. Piccolo is Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Galloway Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He also serves as special assistant to the university’s Provost for Volusia County. His research, teaching, and consulting expertise is in strategic planning, leadership development, interpersonal relationships, motivation, and performance. 

From 2020-2023, Dr. Piccolo served as a special assistant to UCF President Alexander Cartwright, leading the development of UCF’s 5-year strategic plan, and as Interim Vice President for Advancement and CEO of the UCF Foundation. From 2009 - 2016, he was the Cornell Professor of Management and Academic Director of the Center for Leadership Development in the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He earned a Ph.D. in management from the University of Florida, an M.B.A. from Rollins, and a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Stetson University. He has been a visiting scholar at Drexel University, Tulane University, Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany, Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, and the Amsterdam Business School.

Dr. Piccolo teaches graduate- and executive-level courses in leadership, organizational behavior (OB), research methods, and management strategy. At Rollins College, he was recipient of the Cornell Distinguished Teaching Award (2015-2016) and the Cornell Distinguished Faculty Award (2011-2012) for outstanding teaching, research, and service. He was a keynote speaker (2012, 2013, 2014) on “Teaching Effectiveness” for the OB division of the Academy of Management, and his co-authored textbook, Organizational Behavior, was recently published in its 3rd edition.

His research on leadership, motivation, job design, and personality has been published in Forbes magazine, Monster.com, CIO.com, in numerous textbooks, and in top academic journals such as the Academy of Management Journal (AMJ), Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Resource Management, Journal of Management, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. Several of Dr. Piccolo’s research papers have earned recognition including Editor’s prize for Best Scholarly Paper published in Nonprofit Management and Leadership (2007), finalist for the Best Scholarly Paper in the Leadership Quarterly (2009 & 2012); Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s “top rated” conference poster (2009); Best Overall Conference paper at the annual meeting of the Southern Management Association (2010), and Decennial Article Influence Award award from the Leadership Quarterly (2019). 

In 2018, he was recognized by the Academy of Management Learning and Education as one of the Top 100 Most Influential authors in organizational behavior. In 2019, he was recognized by The Leadership Quarterly as one of the most highly cited leadership scholars since 1990, and is currently among the top 20 most cited faculty members at UCF.

Dr. Piccolo recently served as Chair for the OB Division of the Academy of Management and has served as chair of the OB track for the Southern Management Association, coordinator of the Network of Leadership Scholars, and co-editor of two special issues of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. He has served on the editorial boards for AMJ, OBHDP, Group & Organization Management, Organizational Psychology Review, and Leadership Quarterly. He served on the Executive Committee (2014-17) of the OB division at the Academy of Management and currently serves as Associate Editor of Organizational Dynamics, Organizational Psychology Review, and the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies.

Dr. Piccolo's consulting experience includes leadership development, executive coaching, strategic planning, and board development in a variety of industries including education, economic development, finance and private equity, athletics, public affairs, local government, entertainment, and social services. Consulting and coaching clients include Sentio Investments, The Southern Group, the Orlando City Soccer Club, Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP), Bok Tower Gardens, Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, the Boards of County Commission in Seminole and Osceola Counties, Central Florida YMCA, Hispanic Business Initiative Fund (Prospera), Mears Transportation, Lockheed Martin, Puff ‘n Stuff, Inc., 4C, , I-CON Systems, First United Methodist Church in Orlando, and Seminole State College Foundation. 

He currently serves on the Boards of Directors for 1858 Capital Partners, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Winter Park Library. Past board membership and advisory experience includes BRIDG, the Heart of Florida United Way, Central Florida YMCA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando, the Orlando Repertory Theater, and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA). In 2017, he was recipient of the Don Quijote, Hispanic Community Champion award by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Prospera, an award that recognizes a non-Hispanic leader who has supported the development of the Hispanic business community.