"I think that whenever you get into positions where a lot is asked of you…you have to grab onto something that's much larger than yourself." -Ray Damm

Ray Damm is our first guest that comes from the nonprofit world. He is CEO of ACCEL, a private nonprofit organization serving children and adults who have developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders and cognitive disabilities. In this episode, Ray shares his passion for mission-driven work and the impact that ACCEL is having on underserved populations in our own backyard, as well as in Saudi Arabia. He reflects on coming from a family of over-achieving do-gooders, his penchant for timepieces with history, and the importance the private sector plays in giving back to the community.

During our conversation, Ray got real on several topics, including:

• The Mission of ACCEL (8:49)
• Autism prevalence rates (10:14)
• Saudi Arabia - How did that happen? (12:03)
• Non-profit Misconceptions (16:40)
• Private industry supporting non-profit organizations (26:13)
• Mentors/Family (28:48)
• Travel Goals (34:47)
• Chronography obsession (37:02)Please Enjoy, Like & Share!

Instagram: @realtalkwithryanmadrid

YouTube: Real Talk with Ryan Madrid

Real Talk with Ryan Madrid is sponsored by:

● VIP Mortgage https://www.vipmtginc.com/

● Xunami https://xunami.net/

● sGrow https://sgrowcrm.com/

For more information on Ray and ACCEL, visit https://www.accel.org/

Instagram: @accel_arizona

Facebook: @ACCELArizona

Episode Resources:

Saudi Aramco https://www.aramco.com/

The Doe Fund https://www.doe.org/

National Association of Private Special Education Centers https://napsec.org/

A. Lange & Soehne https://www.alange-soehne.com/en/home

IWC Portugiese https://www.iwc.com/us/en/home.html

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