Organizational Description:

Hero Leadership Group is a leadership development and publishing organization committed to building student-led SEL movements through Hero Leadership.

At the core of our work is a bold belief: transformation begins when individuals take radical responsibility for their mindset, emotions, and actions and answer the call to Be Your Own Hero.

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Through research-based social-emotional learning curriculum, mentorship, storytelling, and publishing, Hero Leadership Group equips students, educators, and emerging leaders with the tools to turn adversity into agency. Our work intentionally centers voices from marginalized communities, empowering them not just to be inspired but to lead.

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As the creators of the Be Your Own Publisher initiative, we develop curriculum and publish books that elevate lived experience, strengthen identity, and activate purpose. Every program is designed to move participants from awareness to ownership, and from ownership to leadership.

By fostering self-leadership, emotional intelligence, and a Hero mindset, we help individuals shift from survival to stewardship—leading themselves first so they can lead others with confidence and integrity. This is more than SEL. This is a movement grounded in behavior-change research, designed to produce measurable outcomes for students most at risk, and built to create lasting cultural impact.

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Our Founder:

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Hero Leadership Group was founded in 2019 by Schwartzen Precil, a leadership developer, author, and social-impact practitioner whose work is rooted in service, resilience, and radical responsibility.

The organization was born out of Schwartzen’s year of national service with AmeriCorps VISTA, where he committed himself to addressing poverty and opportunity gaps in economically underserved communities. During this time, he designed and delivered a social-emotional learning curriculum while actively coaching character development for students at William C. Abney Academy Charter School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His work directly served more than 300 youth and contributed to measurable positive outcomes for over 80% of the student population. 

​(Curriculum Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ZW6tMb0rU)

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Through this hands-on service, Schwartzen refined a leadership philosophy centered on transforming pain into purpose by mastering the process behind sustainable, long-term success. As a practitioner specializing in leadership development for millennials and young people impacted by early-onset trauma, his credibility is not theoretical—it is lived.

Schwartzen’s personal journey includes overcoming homelessness, navigating early encounters with the criminal justice system, and choosing a different path. That decision led to a global professional basketball career, launched after receiving a National Leadership Scholarship from the National Collegiate Scouting Association during his senior year of high school. Full Article:

http://highschoolsports.silive.com/news/article/8883731240535586518/bulls-head-hoopster-made-positive-turn-on-road-to-success/

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His story is chronicled in his first book, Be Your Own Hero: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities, which documents his departure from street violence and his commitment to self-leadership, discipline, and service. Today, Schwartzen is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and presenter whose work challenges individuals—especially students and emerging leaders—to take ownership of their lives and become the hero of their own story.

Now recognized as a 2025 Author of the Year nominee, Schwartzen continues to expand Hero Leadership Group as a platform for student-led SEL movements, leadership curriculum, and publishing initiatives that elevate underrepresented voices and create lasting community impact.