PowerUP Scholarship

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Mentorship Matters

Help us give a disadvantaged child a hand up. Change their world. This changes everything.

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ABOUT US

Paying it Forward

Our founders, Austin Scee and Mike Gandy Auzenne, were matched in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (“BBBS”) program of Metro Atlanta in 1997. Mike went from the projects of Atlanta to Colgate to Wall Street to Harvard Business School, following in Austin’s footsteps. In 2017, when Mike returned to Atlanta after business school, they set out to build a scalable mentorship model to complement excellent programs like BBBS.

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MISSION

Helping Disadvantaged Kids to Thrive

Nearly half a million children in Metro Atlanta live in communities with low or very low child well-being. Mentorship programs work, but traditional mentorship models can only serve a fraction of the kids who need a hand up, because one-to-one mentorship models are difficult to scale. 

Our mission is to help disadvantaged and special needs kids thrive by teaching core values through high quality martial arts mentorship.

We have grown from 15 kids in 2017 to over 1,000 in 2024. We have strong demand from parents and partners, and aim to serve 1,500 kids by the end of 2025 and deepen our relationships with our scholars and families.

VISION

Building a Scalable Mentorship Model

Martial Arts gyms are generally run by practitioners who have dedicated their lives to teaching, and to a set of core values.

One Sensei or gym owner can mentor 40-60 scholarship kids at a time, and senseis work after school and on the weekends.

PowerUP can provide senseis and gym owners with marketing help and business tools to increase the number of paying students in addition to scholarship students.

Many gym owners have excess capacity and fluctuating businesses. A base of recurring revenue is highly attractive to them. We help our Senseis build sustainable businesses. 

This virtuous cycle enables us to serve underprivileged kids, and support local businesses that create jobs.

HOW IT WORKS

Delivering Mentorship through Senseis

Private donors, schools, and communities provide money and other resources. Partners and schools refer scholarship candidates. PowerUP grants scholarships to underprivileged and at-risk kids. PowerUP recruits, trains, and monitors a network of participating senseis. Senseis provide mentorship and martial arts training.

PowerUP Kids

GIVE ONE OF OUR KIDS A HAND UP

It costs $500 to sponsor one child for a year

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IMPACT

Change their world. This changes everything.

We have been very blessed to be a part of Power Up martial arts studio. Through martial arts, our son developed a great deal of discipline and respect for others. Sensei Trey has always been full of encouraging support for his students. He has been able to individually assess his students needs, strengths, and abilities. His wife Kim has managed to keep all the balls of the business in the air, welcoming and meeting the needs of families.
Terry Fried, mother of paying blackbelt student
When my husband started the scholarship fund, I didn’t realize how beneficial the experience would be for our own son. He did one week out of six this summer, and I wish we had sent him for more. Trey is amazing with the kids, and our son became fast friends with all the kids.
LEE SCEE, FOUNDER’S WIFE, MOTHER OF PAYING STUDENT
I have struggled with raising three boys for the last few years. We have been with Power Up for only a short time and can already see a huge difference; confidence, strength, focus, interest and school work has all improved across the board.
CHER EADY, MOTHER OF THREE SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS

News

Mentorship Matters
Events

The First Annual Tom Rawls Memorial Tournament

This past weekend, we held the first annual Tom Rawls Memorial PowerUP Tournament, a truly special event named in honor of our friend, mentor, and visionary Board Member, Tom Rawls. The event marks an important milestone for PowerUP, and the five things we’re most

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Mike Gandy Auzenne

Co-founder, Board Director

Mike Gandy Auzenne

Co-founder, Board Director

Mike is currently a senior director in strategic marketing at Buffalo Wild Wings, and Inspire Brands company. Previously, Mike was a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”), and an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mike was matched as a Little Brother by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta with Austin in 1997, and has been a Big Brother himself twice. Mike holds a BA from Colgate University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mike is married, and lives with his wife in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta. He enjoys training for marathons.

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Pradheep Padmanathan

Head of Operations

Pradheep Padmanathan

Head of Operations

Strategy& Operations – Technology

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MIKE GANDY

Board Director

MIKE GANDY

Board Director

Mike is currently a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”). Prior to BCG, he spent several years on Wall Street with Bank of America Merrill Lynch focused on the insurance industry. Mike was matched as a Little Brother by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta with Austin in 1997, and has been a Big Brother himself twice. He is also a member of the Young Leaders Council with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. Mike holds a BA from Colgate University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mike is engaged to be married, lives in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta, and enjoys training for marathons.

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TREY LAMBERT

Sensei and Gym Owner

Donesha Smith

Program Manager

Donesha brings over 25 years of dedicated experience working with youth and young adults. With 18 years of teaching experience both domestically and internationally, she has cultivated a deep passion for empowering students of all ages to reach their full potential.

Donesha proudly serves her country as an Army Instructor and OC/T in the US Army Reserves. She actively supports her community as a Girls Scout troop leader and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Donesha holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Mercer University and a Master of Science from Walden University. Donesha resides outside of Atlanta with her daughter, with whom she shares a passion for traveling and exploring new cultures.

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RICHARD TRAMMELL

Sensei and Gym Owner

RICHARD TRAMMELL

Sensei and Gym Owner

Richard Trammell is a world champion in Shidokan Karate and Kickboxing. He has won national and international titles in Kickboxing, Judo, and Tae Kwon Do. Richard started Trammell Fitness and Martial Arts in 1999 Shidokan Atlanta in 2001. Trammell Fitness and Martial Arts provides services in fitness and martial arts. Richard has promoted amateur boxing, kickboxing, karate, judo and professional MMA events. Richard is also the author of “How To Be A Champion”.

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JOSHUA WHITE

Sensei

JOSHUA WHITE

Sensei

Joshua White is a multiple time national champion in Judo. He hold black belts in in Judo, Ju Jitsu, and Karate. He is the NFC Welterweight MMA Champion.  He is a volunteer coach for Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta. He has coached kids in national and international championships for Judo and promotes annual youth tournaments.

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YALITZA FREYTES-RUIZ

Project Coordinator

YALITZA FREYTES-RUIZ

Project Coordinator

Project Coordinator

  • Two decades of service
  • Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico
  • Professional counselor
  • Bachelors degree in Psychology
  • Masters degree in counseling
  • Born in Puerto Rico, Moved to US in 20xx
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STÉPHAN DONZÉ

Board Director

STÉPHAN DONZÉ

Board Director

Stéphan is a software entrepreneur with 20 years of experience, first with Exalead (founded in 2000 and acquired by Dassault Systèmes in 2010), and now as founder and CEO of AODocs, a new generation cloud document management platform. Born in France, Stéphan moved to California in 2009, before relocating to Atlanta in 2019. He has two passions in life, entrepreneurship and martial arts, and earned his karate black belt in 2018. His three children are all martial artists as well.

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TOM RAWLS

Board Director

TOM RAWLS

Board Director

Tom spent his legal career in Atlanta focusing primarily in the areas of video entertainment, internet and cable TV law. He retired in 2015 after 30 years as in-house counsel for AT&T and Bellsouth. In addition to his work with PowerUP, Tom serves on the board of Tapestri, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to supporting immigrant victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Tom also serves as an advisor to New American Pathways, Georgia Asylum & Immigration Network, and Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. Tom earned a B.S. in Management from Georgia Tech and a J.D. from Emory School of Law. Tom is married with three grown children. He enjoys martial arts and is a black belt in Taekwando.

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AUSTIN SCEE

Co-Founder, Chairman

AUSTIN SCEE

Co-Founder, Chairman

Over the past 20 years, Austin has split his time roughly evenly between running software companies in different operating roles and buying software companies. Austin founded Razorhorse Capital in 2012, and since that time has acquired or invested in over 60 companies with several different private equity sponsors. Austin has been a Big Brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program twice and has served on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta. Austin holds a BA from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Austin lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and middle-school aged son. He and enjoys martial arts training.

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TOM AVERY

Board Director

TOM AVERY

Board Director

Tom spent his career in investment banking and venture capital in Atlanta. He retired from Raymond James in 2016. In addition to PowerUP, Tom is on the board of KIPP Metro Atlanta (Knowledge is Power Program). KIPP is an open enrollment charter school dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. Tom earned a BS in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Tom is married with three grown children, and lives north of Atlanta. In addition to serving his community, Tom is enjoying traveling the globe with his wife.

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MIKE GANDY

Board Director

MIKE GANDY

Board Director

Mike is currently a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”). Prior to BCG, he spent several years on Wall Street with Bank of America Merrill Lynch focused on the insurance industry. Mike was matched as a Little Brother by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta with Austin in 1997, and has been a Big Brother himself twice. He is also a member of the Young Leaders Council with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. Mike holds a BA from Colgate University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mike is engaged to be married, lives in the Old Fourth Ward area of Atlanta, and enjoys training for marathons.

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