Olaolu Ogunyemi

Olaolu Ogunyemi is a U.S. Marine officer, award-winning author, and leadership mentor whose work reflects a powerful belief in leadership through service first. His experience spans the boardroom, classroom, and living room, connecting lessons from military leadership with the everyday responsibility of helping parents, educators, children, and emerging leaders grow with purpose.

As the founder of Parent-Child-Connect, Olaolu builds bridges between parents, educators, and the next generation. Through practical, purpose-driven tools, his work focuses on raising resilient, emotionally healthy leaders from the ground up. His approach recognizes that leadership begins long before someone receives a title. It develops through character, connection, responsibility, and the way people choose to serve others.

Olaolu also brings these ideas to young readers through storytelling. His children’s book, Crow From the Shadow, earned critical acclaim for opening meaningful conversations about identity, choices, and self-worth. Through his writing, he creates opportunities for children and families to explore important topics together.

His newest book, Lead Last: Twenty-One Counterintuitive Principles for Becoming an Effective Leader, released in June 2026, takes his leadership philosophy even further. The book challenges conventional leadership culture by exploring what happens when leaders put others before themselves. Through leadership through service first, Olaolu presents an approach focused less on status and recognition and more on creating meaningful, lasting impact.

His work has been featured in Forbes, Military Families Magazine, the Marine Corps Gazette, and Leatherneck Magazine. Across these platforms and his broader work, Olaolu explores leadership not simply as a professional skill, but as something practiced every day within families, communities, classrooms, and organizations.

Whether serving as a Marine officer, mentoring leaders, writing for children and adults, or building Parent-Child-Connect, Olaolu brings purpose and service into every area of his work. He lives and leads alongside his wife, Brea, and their three children.