Ian Acker
Founder & Community Leader
Ian Acker is an entrepreneur, community leader, and nonprofit founder with a passion for building organizations and communities that help people thrive. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wittenberg University, where he was a four-year starter on the men’s soccer team and served as team captain his senior year.
The Journey of Fit To Recover
In 2013, Ian began bringing people together through informal fitness groups in Salt Lake City. That idea grew into Fit To Recover, a nonprofit he founded and led for more than 13 years. What began with a handful of people meeting in a park eventually became a thriving community organization centered around four pillars: fitness, nutrition, creative expression, and community service. Fit To Recover opened its first facility in 2015 and went on to serve hundreds of people each week.
Recognition & Service
Ian has also served on nonprofit boards, including Recovery Beyond and the Sobriety Foundation, and has remained actively involved in community-focused organizations. His leadership and entrepreneurial work have received recognition including a SCORE Outstanding Community Impact award and recognition through the Community Foundation of Utah’s Invest in Success initiative.
Leadership & Growth
Over more than a decade of leadership, Ian developed experience in entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, fundraising, strategic planning, program development, community engagement, and organizational growth. He helped guide Fit To Recover from its earliest stages through the development of a 5,500-square-foot gym, which later grew into an 11,000-square-foot community center and a second location in Provo, Utah. He expanded programming, built partnerships with treatment and community organizations, and developed a co-branded curriculum used to certify other fitness and recovery leaders. Through this work, he supported owners in Colorado, Texas, and Connecticut in developing their own Fit To Recover programs and classes. He ultimately helped guide the organization through a transition to new leadership.
Vision & Impact
A lifelong believer in the power of connection, movement, and community, Ian brings a combination of business education, athletic leadership, entrepreneurial experience, and more than a decade of nonprofit leadership to the organizations and people he works with.
Not my lane
I will not provide:
Legal advice filings
Tax prep or accounting
Grant writing services
Audit management
Financial reporting
Government compliance
Personal legal counsel
IAN ACKER — FOUNDER