Rodney Zimmerman - (Curriculum & Program Director)

For more than fifteen years, Rodney Zimmerman has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to enhancing young lives throughout the country.  Upon graduating from the Air Force Academy High School in Colorado Springs as a High School All-American in Basketball, he went on to attend the celebrated and storied University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) on a full athletic scholarship. It was there that he would play collegiate basketball for one of the top programs in the country. While at UCLA, Mr. Zimmerman would gain insight for family and youth leadership cultivation by traveling each summer with the Christian organization Athletes In Action.  It was during this time that Mr. Zimmerman would go through a tremendously, invaluable maturation process that embodied a level of discipline and dedication that would serve as the foundation for his remarkable belief system and professional development moving forward.  Upon successfully graduating from UCLA with a degree in Political Science, Mr. Zimmerman’s fortitude and diligence would lead him on a path to play professional basketball for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and throughout Europe for over six years.  Every summer while pursuing another year of professional basketball, he would take time to teach at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Carson, California and coordinate youth programs at Long Beach YMCA. 

Shortly after retiring from the game of basketball, Mr. Zimmerman shifted his focus and energy on being a staunch advocate for our Nation’s youth. As Program Manager for Woodcraft Rangers, Mr. Zimmerman served as an invaluable asset in promoting healthy youth development and enrichment activities, especially for those living in impacted, under-served neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area. During his two year tenure, he was responsible for the development and facilitation of targeted, educational youth programs, in addition to the management and creation of strategic community partnerships. It was at this time where Mr. Zimmerman not only significantly advanced the mission of the Woodcraft Rangers organization, but also that of his own personal desire to make a strong, impactful, and meaningful difference in the lives of children. To that end, Mr. Zimmerman would go on to take his collective experiences, skill sets, and vision, to develop curriculums and programs for Conditioned Minds, Inc.—an innovative and cutting-edge youth development organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Over the past six years, he has designed and implemented curricula that incorporate fundamental aspects of athletic training and mental concentration techniques in order to help youth achieve optimal performance levels within the classroom, athletics, and society-at-large. Recognizing an increasing trend toward home schooling, Mr. Zimmerman has produced Home School curriculums along with After School programs specifically for middle and high school students. As a result of his current work, Mr. Zimmerman served as a guest speaker for the distinguished Atlanta Hall of Fame. Additionally, youth forums and camps across the country—a great deal of which are run under the Conditioned Minds banner—have been hosted by Mr. Zimmerman.

Mr. Zimmerman resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Charla and their three beautiful children, Tyree, Jayvon, and Jada that continue to serve as his primary sources of pride, joy, and inspiration.