We recently connected with Zakery Ferry and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Zakery thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

We are called the Lion Project because we believe that everyone has had a lion stand in the gap for them at some point in their life. I have a personal Lion story. Back in high school, at Torrey Pines High School, in the North Coast of San Diego—a school of 3,500 kids so full they brought in trailers for overflow classes—I was a young 16 year old Junior in the Winter of 2002. I was being a jerk to my two teachers in an overfilled math class, acting out. To my surprise, one of my teachers rearranged his pants and belt and asked me to join him outside, as if he was going to spank my butt like a toddler. I commented I was going to get my butt spanked to the class, and the class laughed.

The sun hung overhead, just before noon, and the wind carried the fragrance of salt and eucalyptus, hushing the birds as it rustled through the trees. At the switchback of the ramp to the entrance of the trailer, I found myself cornered by this stocky, speckled gray-bearded man staring me down. I could feel the rush of noise in my mind go out like the Pacific Ocean tide, and in that moment, my attention was gripped by a single question that left this teacher’s mouth and pierced my thoughts down to my heart. He asked, “What’s going on?” And in that moment I felt as if I was staring in the face of a Lion. Trapped between the truth of the answer and how to escape, I felt scared, vulnerable, and not sure what to do. I must have had hours of thoughts go through my head in that moment as I squirmed, wrestling with this Lion and my thoughts. So, I took the chance and uttered the truth: “My mom tried to take her life last night, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen to her.”

As I said that, the reaction on my teacher’s face was not one of surprise but one of understanding. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key chain with a greenish circle coin that said “10 years.” I asked him what that was, and he said he had been sober for 10 years. As I was visiting with this Lion, I felt seen, and that there was hope.

I often see my story in other lions’ stories. One, in particular, is the greatest Lion of all time, in my opinion, Jesus. Specifically, the story when the woman was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus’s feet:

3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. … 7. All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. … 10. “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

I can only imagine what it must have been like looking into the face of Jesus, feeling scared, vulnerable, and not knowing what to do, and being totally seen by Him.

Fast forward 5 years later, I’m flying back from Colorado to San Diego to present my mom with a 5-year token of sobriety. As I’m walking through the entrance of the building, dusk has settled in. I turn the corner from this hall to a room with a long table and chairs assembled around the table. Sitting at the end of the long table is my teacher/my Lion, preparing to lead this AA group. I couldn’t believe it—it was as if my breath was sucked out of my body like the sea sucks the tide back to itself. I didn’t know the meaning of this moment but knew it wasn’t an accident and that God was going to use it someday.

That someday was Monday, October 14th, 2019, as I’m driving to work, wrestling with my talk for the Gala that year, coming up on the 19th. The Lord met me on the ride to work and reminded me of this moment 17 years ago.

So it’s our mission and passion to tell stories of Lions in our community and help them grow to do more for others in our community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I moved out to Colorado in 2003 to attend CU Boulder, studying at the School of Architecture and Planning, and took a bunch of courses at the Business School.

During my time at CU, I had an encounter with Jesus and ended up working at Flatirons Community Church, where I helped build a college ministry and worked at CU as a campus minister.

After college, I spent several months in Costa Rica with a backpack and surfboard, going from ministry base to ministry base, surfing and serving.

When I returned, I worked for a small design and build business, where I helped grow a sales and a canvassing program.

Next, I worked for a start-up entertainment business, where I learned about true outside sales, building markets, marketing, and video storytelling.

All the while, we were taking young professionals down to Costa Rica on mission trips.

I felt called back into ministry and ended up raising support as a missionary to work with students at the Art Institute of Colorado. I had a vision for building community through creatives and wondered if I could repurpose a friend’s 501(c)(3) organization called the Lion Project. So I did, and here we are 11 years later, as I’m writing this in 2024.

I remember sitting around the table with a number of creatives who didn’t see their gifts as all that valuable. I knew that nonprofits could use their support to visually articulate their story.

So, we created a funding model to pay for video storytelling for nonprofits. This involved providing local businesses with a turnkey philanthropic program, where we would host four service projects a year that their business could participate in. We would film the impact of where their money goes and how it changes lives.

In addition to that we created a new brand called Narrative Paintbrush, focused on much larger stories. At Narrative Paintbrush, we are artists and community leaders with a passion for telling stories. Our mission is to improve lives through the power of storytelling and audience experience. Together, we embark on a journey that combines research, brand work, strategic partnerships, talent acquisition, marketing, impact measurement, expansion, continuous improvement, and above all, stories.

So, we’ve been doing that for the last 11 years or so.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

If I were to be honest, this is actually more recent than not, but at the beginning of the year, we had a number of factors that put a strain on cash flow. I was visiting my wife’s family in Georgia, and on our way back, my wife was driving while I worked on my computer. Our four kids were in the back napping and playing around. I had a film project that was supposed to come in two weeks prior, but I hadn’t heard from them. I knew that without this project, we would not be able to make the next run of payroll. I called my Chairman of the Board to let him know that I would have to ask the team to take a pause in working with The Lion Project in order for us to get into a better cash position.

As I was leaving my Chairman this message, I received an email from the client. He apologized for taking so long to get back to me, but he had just a couple of questions and wanted to move forward. I couldn’t believe the timing of this was a big stretching moment for me. One thing is true God has always provided, but it has been at the last moment.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There is one book that I’ve read recently that really freed me up to accept who I am in a business environment. That is Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman. For the longest time, I’ve really struggled with providing the structure and systems that all businesses need to thrive and grow. I’ve always heard this feedback from team members and board members, and it has made me second guess what I’m doing and if there is someone better to take this organization to the next level.

Reading Rocket Fuel helped me realize that I’m a visionary, and that’s an important role within an organization. What everyone is really asking for is an integrator. So, I’ve been on the lookout for an integrator.

“A visionary is someone who has a vision, an idea, or a solution to a problem. An integrator is a person who takes the visionary’s idea and makes it happen. When you bring the visionary and the integrator together, you get the business equivalent of rocket fuel!” — Rocket Fuel, Gino Wickman.

Contact Info:

• Website: thelionproejct.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lionproject/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLionProject
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-lion-project
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lionproject303
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/lionproject

Image Credits
The Lion Project Mio Sison