Timothy Paul Duffy is a bilingual (Spanish and English), award winning executive leader, international speaker, trainer and coach who has spent almost two decades in the areas of leadership, success, management, communication, sales and customer success. At Queens College, City University of New York, Tim served as one of the youngest student government presidents. After graduating, Tim worked for several years in government and then for 12 years at The National Society of Leadership and Success, helping to create the largest leadership society in the country, which currently has 700+ Chapters and 1 million+ members. He successfully managed 40 employees and 600 interns. During that time, his teams broke company records for their performance. He has also interviewed and worked with celebrities, best-selling authors and motivational speakers from around the globe to teach people about leadership, success and making positive change in the world. He also served as COO of two start up companies. Currently, he is the President of Duffy Leadership Inc. In 2021, Tim founded Electus Society, a free membership executive leadership organization whose mission is to create the next generation of motivated, active, and engaged advocates. He provides much needed personal and professional development training to help create the next generation of leaders. |
Tim Duffy grew up as the “runt of the litter”-a short, scrawny, sickly kid who felt alone. Because Tim was picked on, he felt like an outcast. As the youngest in his family, he was treated as the baby. The people he loved and looked up to told him that he was not old enough, strong enough, or smart enough. But through his life experiences as a child and the lessons he learned from great teachers, Tim transformed his life. Now, he transforms the lives of other people. Tim brings love, joy and humor to each and every person he meets. He serves as a coach and speaks across the country, and in doing so, he empowers people to realize that they are old enough, smart enough and strong enough to be a leader.
Tim currently lives in New York with his wife Michelle, a veterinarian technician, his two dogs, Bob and Milo (mee-lo), and his three black cats, Marcus, Juba and Maximus. All are rescue animals, and all of the cats were named after characters from one of Tim’s favorite leadership movies: Gladiator.
Tim’s Story
Tim’s childhood was a struggle. His parents were divorced when he was young and he grew up in California with his mother working all the time and his father living in another state. As a result, he often felt hopeless and alone. He also grew up poor with no money in his pocket, and had to find ways to survive. Tim and his older brother would jump into dumpsters to find empty soda cans to recycle for money. Once they collected enough change, Tim and his brother would buy junk food to eat.
By the end of middle school, Tim had moved more than eight times while his mother struggled to find work. Always the new kid in school, Tim felt like an outcast. He was easily picked on and bullied by other kids.
In high school, Tim was seriously malnourished, which stunted his growth. He knew that he needed to escape his current environment, so he fled to New York to live with his grandparents. This decision immediately changed the course of Tim’s life-he started eating better and grew six inches in less than a year.
By the time he enrolled in college, Tim found himself attracted to the topic of leadership because he was looking for love, respect and acceptance. He discovered that leadership is based on love and compassion, and that great leaders were not born, but made. Tim discovered his destiny and mission: to help people transform their lives, realize their full potential and be leaders.
Tim became a very successful student leader in college, serving as president of several clubs and organizations. He ran for student government and became one of the youngest student government presidents in his college’s history. He received several awards for his accomplishments. During college, Tim was also introduced to The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), which exposed him to vast array of literature on success and leadership. Gary Tuerack, the founder of the Society, would later serve as one of Tim’s life-long mentors.
Soon after graduating college, Tim started working in local government to make a positive difference in his local community. Later he started working with The National Society of Leadership and Success, inspired by its mission to build leaders who make a better world. With Gary’s vision and other great mentors, Tim became part of a team to help grow the organization to make the Society the largest leadership society in the country in less than a decade. Tim has had many roles at the Society, including Host and Broadcast Producer, Assistant Director of Chapter Support, and the National Director of Student Program Development. He has both interviewed and worked with celebrities, best-selling authors, and motivational speakers from around the globe to teach students about leadership, success and making positive change in the world. Tim currently serves as the President and Founder of Duffy Leadership Inc. and Electus Society.
(Clockwise from left: Alton Brown: Bestselling Author and Celebrity Host on Food Network, Mel Robbins: Renowned Motivational Speaker and Author, Alexis Jones: Founder of I Am That Girl, Common: Multi-Grammy Award-Winning Hip Hop Artist and Actor, Barry Posner: Leadership Scholar and Co-Author of The Leadership Challenge, Robert and Kim Kiyosaki: Bestselling Authors of Rich Dad Poor Dad and Rich Woman, Brad Meltzer: Bestselling Political Thriller Author.)
Tim has presented keynotes, workshops and lectures at some of the largest conferences across the country including: Association for Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA), The National Association of Campus Activities (NACA), The National Center for Student Leadership (NCSL) The National Collegiate Leadership Conference (NCLC), American Student Government Association (ASGA) and many others.