Dave Neff (@DNeff84) is the
Founder and CEO of EDGE
Mentoring, a faith-based intergenerational mentoring
organization focusing on bridging the professional
engagement gap. EDGE spans 40+ states and multiple
countries and gathers thousands of professionals annually for
its EDGE|X leadership
conference.
“We’ve created a third space that’s
outside the home. It’s not where you go to work or church. It’s a
third place, like Starbucks, for millennials to engage in
whole-life, intergenerational mentor relationships." – Dave
Neff
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More About the Show
Dave Neff’s career started by
working for the Indiana
Pacers after graduating from Ball State with a
degree in Sports Administration. At first we worked in ticket
services, sales, then the sold the suites at Bankers Life
Fieldhouse.
In 2011, Dave switch careers at taking a position in marketing for
ExactTarget (now a subsidiary of Salesforce) in downtown Indy.
While working for the Pacers, Dave sold a suite to an animal health
company called Elanco that
operated under Eli Lilly. what started out as a business
relationship between Dave, Jeff Simmons and the company he lead
turned into a mentoring relationship.
In 2009, Dave was asked to join a twice-a-month mentoring call Jeff
was starting with 3 other young professionals. But this wasn’t some
bible study, it was whole-life, touching on the spiritual, personal
habits and discipline, and career.
As time went on, they added more mentees with various backgrounds
and they quickly became very close, taking trips and networking,
even participating in each other’s weddings.
After the acquisition of
ExactTarget by Salesforce, Dave was faced with a choice – either
stay and ride out the transition, or try something different. He
looked to his mentors in the company, and nearly all of them were
leaving. So he decided to go a different direction too.
In 2014, Dave founded EDGE
Mentoring, a young professionals mentoring
organization aimed at connecting faith-driven professionals with
like-minded peers.
Dave had a deep upbringing in the Christian faith. He grew up in a
very conservative Evangelical household, attended a prestigious
private Christian high
school in Indy, and was involved
in CRU in
college.
“While there was a some great merit [to my church], and I
learned the Gospel,... you didn’t hear the word grace a lot about
grace,” Neff says. “It was sort of this
very prideful ‘this is my faith, and if we don’t line up on every
jot and tittle, then we aren’t on the same
team.’”
Instead, leading his faith-based mentoring organization, Dave
strives to seek out and surround himself with people that don’t
believe exactly what he believes.
Now in its fourth year, EDGE is quickly becoming the go-to resource
for young professionals of faith to to explore deep connections
with like-minded peers and learn from mentors they can look up
to.
Want to become EDGE
Mentor? Click Here to
Apply!
Interested
in being the newest EDGE Mentee? Click Here to
Apply!
Thanks, Dave Neff!
If you enjoyed this show with management change
leader Aaron Levy, let him know by clicking on the links below and
sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or
Instagram.
Click here to connect with Dave on
LinkedIn
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Twitter!
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Facebook!
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