The title “team player” is a cliché in the business world. Unless you’re Marlon Kerner. Then it’s accurate on many different levels. As Entrepreneurs Forever’s Community Director for Western New York, Marlon helps small business owners succeed by forging strong educational and emotional bonds with their peers. It’s a role he knows well. During a football career culminating as a member of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Marlon experienced how learning from others is critical to flourishing in a dynamic environment. It’s a lesson he’s carried from the playing field to the arena of business.

Before joining Entrepreneurs Forever, Marlon coached the employees at Target Corporation and several other major companies on how to better the customer experience and happiness in their own careers. He is also the co-founder of 640 Strategies, a social sustainability consulting firm that focuses on working with business owners to advance and fortify their work in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility space once the training and seminars have ended with Kyria Stephens. Marlon holds a B.S. in Consumer Affairs from The Ohio State University, a Master’s degree in Strategic Leadership from St. Bonaventure University, and also has a certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

When not helping small business owners grow, you’ll find him playing key roles on a far different team: husband to wife Nicole and father to their three children, Elijah, Kendyl and Gabriel.