El-Java Abdul-Qadir

El-Java Abdul-Qadir, Co-Founder of My Dream Summit Inc, is an Award-winning Professional Business Coach, Entrepreneurial Growth Scholar, Social Justice Advocate, and Serial Entrepreneur. He has over 20 years of post-Master’s level organizational leadership, program development and project management experience, specializing in strategic planning, cultural competence, and organizational performance within private companies and public agencies. His early contributions to the development and practical implementation of Inclusive Entrepreneurship™ methodology has been formally recognized by Syracuse University, NYS Empire State Development Corporation, The US Department of Labor, the US Small Business Administration, and others.

As an Adjunct Faculty member at Syracuse University, El-Java has spent over a decade teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses on issues that straddle the intersection of social, political, and economic disparity. His practical experience as an entrepreneur and as a business consultant has provided him with unique theoretical and practical advantage that is on display in the classroom, at academic conferences, as well as in his writing. El-Java is also a PhD Candidate at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Administration. In line with his professional experience, his doctoral dissertation work explores the sociological determinants of entrepreneurship, specifically investigating the impact that entrepreneurship has on addressing the wealth disparities.

In addition to his professional and entrepreneurial work, El-Java is a 7th degree blackbelt in Shotokan karate and a multiple time World Champion kickboxer, most recently winning back-to-back Gold Medals at the 2019 WAKO World Championships in Antalya, Turkey

and at the 2021 WAKO World Championships in Jesolo Lido, Italy. Although he turned his passion for martial arts into a business in 1998, it was in 2008 when El-Java opened Excel Martial Arts Training Center, LLC. While maintaining his role as CEO and Chief Instructor at EMATC, El-Java has held leadership positions in regional and national organizations with responsibilities including Tournament Promoter (Syracuse Open), Head Tatami Coach for USA Kickboxing, President of Point Fighting Professionals Inc., and most recently, the Board of Directors for USA Kickboxing (WAKO USA).

As a public speaker, El-Java uses his experience as a World Champion to appeal to audiences seeking strategic and methodological competition tactics as well as inspiration and motivation. Dovetailing this with his understanding of individual and organizational development has led to solution focused individual business coaching, results driven corporate workshops, and dynamic keynote speeches for over two decades. In this capacity, El-Java has been invited to present on subsects including intentional decision-making, leading by example, and the championship mindset. Since 2019, El-Java has been featured as the headliner in international seminars conducted in Guatemala, Ecuador, and Panama.

El-Java is originally from Bronx, NY. He currently lives in Syracuse with his wife Sophary and two children (Tahirah and Ibrahim). The family owns and operates the Central New York Headquarters of Excel Martial Arts Training Center, and he currently serves as Director of the South Side Innovation Center, a community engagement project of the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. Committed to social and economic justice, for nearly 25 years, El-Java has volunteered his time and expertise to organizations within the CNY region. He is a founding board member of On Point for College, RAHMA Free Health Clinic, and The Good Life. He has also served on the Executive Boards of the Syracuse Land Bank, CNY Works, and the Business Incubator Association of NYS.

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