AMERICAN ACHIEVERS explores the power of ambition, commitment to excellence, risk-taking and tenacity in pursuit of the American Dream. Hosted and produced by author, documentary filmmaker, and media trailblazer Keith Dunnavant, who has been interviewing newsmakers for more than four decades, including many years as an award-winning print journalist in New York and Atlanta. Widely acclaimed for his sports and general history books, including THE MISSING RING, SPY PILOT and MONTANA, Dunnavant co-directed the ESPN Films documentary BART STARR. With each episode of AMERICAN ACHIEVERS, he explores the life of an accomplished individual who has relentlessly chased success and fulfillment, often battling through significant adversity and reflecting universal lessons that strike at the heart of the American experience. Featuring entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, astronauts, media figures and civic leaders. KeithDunnavant.com
Episodes
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Tinesha Ross talks about the trauma that devastated her childhood, the power of one thoughtless sentence, and the lessons she learned while battling against the odds to make her dream come true, becoming a rocket scientist for United Launch Alliance.
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Alana Shepherd talks about the catastrophic accident that paralyzed her son and how this personal tragedy became the catalyst to the defining cause of her life, the Shepherd Center, which has treated more than 40,000 people who have sustained spinal cord injuries and acquired brain injuries since 1975.
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Retired General Steve Ritchie talks about struggling to hang on during his first year at the Air Force Academy, the deal he made with a superior officer to reach flight school, mastering the F-104 Starfighter and the F-4 Phantom, and his fateful decision to volunteer for a second tour in Vietnam, becoming the only Air Force pilot ace of the war.
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Caricature artist Robert Risko talks about the pivotal day he met Andy Warhol, how LSD altered his perspective, the origins of his widely celebrated retro airbrush style, and how he has endeavored to turn icons into real people in the pages of magazines including VANITY FAIR and THE NEW YORKER.
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Part 2 of 2: David Hartman talks about why he reinvented himself in middle age by becoming the first host of ABC's upstart program GOOD MORNING AMERICA, the philosophy he employed while interviewing presidents, kings, and movie stars, and the most gut-wrenching experience of his broadcasting career.
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Part 1 of 2: David Hartman talks about the importance of curiosity and experimentation, losing his dream of becoming an Air Force pilot, achieving success as an actor on Broadway and in television shows including NBC's LUCAS TANNER, and the edgy documentary project that began pushing his life in a very different direction.
Monday Mar 07, 2022
Monday Mar 07, 2022
Tai Babilonia talks about the moment of youthful inspiration that launched her figure-skating career, the day she met long-time partner Randy Gardner, how it felt to be in the zone, the burdens of teenage fame, and the injury at the 1980 Winter Olympics that broke her heart.
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Technology entrepreneur Rodney Williams talks about failing the first grade, the aspirational outlook that shaped his development, the business lessons he learned around his mother's beauty shop, and why he decided to walk away from a big job at Procter & Gamble to co-found the pioneering ultrasonic connectivity company LISNR.
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Neil Leifer talks about growing up poor on New York's Lower East Side, the deli delivery job that allowed him to buy his first camera, landing his first SPORTS ILLUSTRATED cover as a teenager, why his legendary picture of the triumphant Muhammad Ali still resonates, and the drive that propelled him to become one of the greatest sports photographers of all time.
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
One-time flight attendant Sister Schubert talks about the church food fair that changed her life, the risks she took to follow her dream, the promise she made to God, and the lessons she learned in creating an iconic frozen foods brand.