Ambassadors of Compassion

MANAGEMENT

CEO/Executive Director

Eric Hannah

CEO/Executive Director Experience

Eric grew up in Orange County, California, with a fascination for making movies. As a youth, Eric had fun with his dad’s Super 8 camera shooting videos starring local kids from around the neighborhood. While in high school Eric played football, which ultimately led to a scholarship as the starting place kicker at the University of Colorado as a member of the National Championship team. After an injury forced him home from college, Eric returned to his passion for film making. Eric’s first independent film, Extreme Attitude, was considered by the ski industry to be one the year’s best. From this success he co-founded a unique film and clothing company that targeted the elusive youth market. This successful company, Truth Soul Armor, was named “One of the Top 50 Trends of the 90’s” by Entrepreneur Magazine and “What’s Hot in America” on Good Morning America. After selling Truth Soul Armor, Eric directed, produced, and wrote The Moment of Truth, and with a surging fan base the demand was created for The Moment of Truth 2, which broke all retail records for sales in its genre. Eric then went on to direct and produce multiple projects for European television and produced and directed several TV shows that aired to large international television audiences throughout the world. Eric’s feature film debut, Extreme Days, which he directed and co-wrote, was the first of its kind to hit the big screen ahead of the major studios. The film received a 90% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The next feature film he produced and directed was Meet Me in Miami, a romantic comedy starring Latin heartthrobs Carlos Ponce and Eduardo Verástegui. The film premiered at the Latino Film Festival and received an overwhelming response. As a result, Warner Bros. made a generous offer to purchase the film, but Eric opted to use the film to help at risk families, thus creating the Meet Me in Miami: Giving Hope Tour, with large self-produced premier events across America, Mexico, Canada and Australia. These premiers generated over $120,000,000 in prescription glasses, hearing aids, food, college scholarships and more for countless underserved children and families. During the premieres, Eric saw the overwhelming needs of today's youth and founded the Ambassadors of Compassion program to help students build emotional resiliency and mental wellness, with over 80,000 students taking the transformational program in schools around the world. This passion led him to integrate entertainment and education by producing and directing, with his wife and producing partner, Jodi Hannah, the televised Ambassadors of Compassion TV show starring Golden Globe winner Tyler James Williams that aired across the US. Eric co-hosted the show with his wife and Wilmer Valderrama. Eric then produced, and was creative director with Jodi, the Lombardi Honors, one of the most prestigious college football award shows, which aired live on CBS Sports and ESPN. Eric began developing and testing the Ambassadors of Compassion emotional resiliency program in 2010. The Ambassadors of Compassion program was created to engage hearts and activate emotional resiliency, self-leadership, and life-skills in students, equipping them to achieve academically, socially and in life. Over the next seven years $15 million dollars were invested and nearly 60,000 students went through the program.

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