About Us
The Asante Group
The Asante Group is a socially driven business intent on changing the world by changing lives. With that vision as a guide, our mission is to create empowered, prosperous and globalized individuals and communities.
There are many challenges facing the world today. Everything from poverty, hunger, disease, global warming, nuclear proliferation and more threaten humanity. For the most part these issues can be traced back to two very specific issues – education and opportunity.
Both are needed to address these major problems. It is not enough just to educate as knowledge without the power to use it is knowledge wasted. And providing opportunities to those not prepared to leverage them is opportunity wasted.
Our mantra then is to empower people to create better lives for themselves and their community. We do that by providing both education and opportunity through three distinct areas: empowerment, prosperity, globalization.
Jeff Ballard
Founder, CEO
From the depths of despair to the greatest place he has ever been in his life. That is how Jeff describes his amazing personal journey over the last few years. In late 2007, after dealing with the loss of his father, loss of his business and the trials and tribulations of a failing marriage, Jeff found himself in the deepest darkest state of a clinical depression. Determined to overcome the debilitating pain of years of not feeling loved, wanted or respected, Jeff decided to not only end the downward spiral, but committed to overcome it. Diving into the process Jeff discovered a passion for personal development that helped to bring him to his current positive state.
During his personal journey Jeff started piecing together the lessons he was learning from therapists, authors and experts in all facets of life – mental health, spirituality, family, relationships, finances and more to help create a foundation to rebuild his life. It is this framework that Jeff has captured and is now sharing with others through the Live Your Masterpiece program.
Describing his experience as ‘being fortunate’ to have battled depression, Jeff now is helping others to overcome adversity, to deal with life changes, and to take their current lives to the next level. Jeff is an organizer for two Meetup groups. His New Beginnings a divorce support group helps people proactively and positively move forward into their new lives. His recently formed Art of Life group is formed around his Live Your masterpiece personal development framework.
Through his own life experiences, Jeff’s has developed a passion for promoting global prosperity to help others overcome economic disadvantages. He is actively involved with the University of Notre Dame’s Jim Karaffa Business Academy for Women in Nairobi, Kenya, Say Thanks Foundation for Africa, and other organizations seeking to help eradicate poverty.
An avid photogrpaher, Jeff has combined his passions by providing photography services for a causes like JKBAW, the ALS Association of Orange County and others, as well as for youth sports organizations such as AAU, National Junior Basketball, Irvine High School, Irvine Rox, etc. With an active travel schedule that takes him all over the globe, Jeff has been able to capture people, places and events from around the world. Jeff’s work can be seen at www.InPlayPhotos.com
As for his other passions, Jeff has son in college, a daughter in high school, is in a loving and committed relationship, and is into sports, photography, movies, music, politics & pop culture in general.
