Melissa Dawn Simkins takes your privacy seriously and is committed to protecting the privacy of the information you share with us when you access and use our websites or products.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Melissa Dawn Simkins website, the Athleadership Arena™ platform, M.V.P. Accelerator™ and all microsites, apps, courses, and products accessed through melissadawnsimkins.com which we refer to in this Policy as "Sites" or "Products."

This Privacy Policy is presented in a layered format. Click through to jump to a specific section.

Melissa Dawn Simkins, Inc., is a Virginia corporation that provides breakthrough leadership development through a methodology called Athleadership™. We provide leadership development curriculum, performance analytics, community activation and live and virtual events to support the workplace that fuses the mindset of elite athletes with the mastery of next-level leadership through our Athleadership Arena™ which includes our M.V.P. Accelerator™ flagship course, additional course experiences, analytics, community support and live and virtual events, discussion forums and more. We also provide a variety of online videos, lessons and coursework, one-on-one coaching, in person and virtual events, and live discussion platforms.

Our "Clients" are organizations who pay for access to our Products. The persons who use our Products are "Users". If you are just checking out our Sites and Products, then you are a "Visitor."

We welcome your comments regarding this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices. If you have questions about this Policy or believe that we have not adhered to it, please contact us. You can contact us by email, phone, or regular mail and we will respond to your query within 30 days.

The information we collect from you varies depending upon whether you are our Client or a User.

When you access our Products, we may collect the following information:

• Entity Information, including the name of the business, the division or group using our Products, and business address.
• Contact Information, including the business contact person's name, work email address, work phone number, and position or title at the company; and
• Payment Information, including bank account and credit card information.

When you access our Products, we ask you to complete a "User Profile" which includes the following information:

• Contact Information, including your name, email, phone numbers, work address; and
• Your Photograph.

We may ask for your name, email address, mobile number, organizational and employment information if you enquire about our Products, request more information from us, or fill out a form requesting access to or information about our Products.

As is true of most online platforms, we gather certain information automatically and store it. This information may include your Internet protocol (IP) address, browser type (for example Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome), Internet service provider (ISP), operating system (for example, Apple macOS, Apple iOS, Microsoft Windows, or Android), and the date and time you accessed our Sites. We may link this automatically collected data to other information we collect about you so that we can provide a better user experience. For example, if you stopped watching a video in the middle, it will restart where you left off.

We use cookies, widgets, and similar technologies. These technologies are used to identify you while you are using our Sites, analyze trends, administer our Sites and gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. We may receive reports based on the use of these technologies on an individual as well as an aggregated basis.

We partner with third parties to display advertising on our Sites and to manage our advertising on third party websites. Our third-party partners may use technologies such as cookies to gather information about your activities on our Sites and other websites in order to provide you advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish to not have this information used for the purpose of serving you interest-based ads, you may opt-out by clicking here (or if located in the European Union click here). Please note this does not opt you out of being served ads. You may continue to receive generic ads.

Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. Visit https://www.allaboutcookies.org to see how. However, if you reject certain cookies, you may not be able to access our Sites or fully use our Products. For more general information about cookies click here. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.

We track your IP address, location, when and for how long you access our Sites and Products, and what Products and Sites you've accessed. Our Sites respond to "Do Not Track" and Global Privacy Control "GPC" requests.

We may record or take photos of you during our events for training or marketing purposes, but we will notify you and get your consent before we do so.

You have the right to obtain a copy of the personal information we collect from you, to know what personal information we hold, to object to the collection of your personal information, and to remove, correct, transfer or delete your personally identifiable information. If you are a User who has accessed our Sites because of your relationship with our Client, such as your employer, you should contact that Client, typically your Employer, in order to exercise these rights.

If you wish to make choices regarding our cookies and tracking, please go to Cookies and Tracking Technologies We Use or our Cookie Policy to learn how to access your cookie choices.

For more information on removing, changing or deleting your information click here. You may also contact us at info@velvetsuite.com.

We retain your personally identifiable information for as long as the information is needed to provide our Products to our Clients and for any additional period necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Generally, for Users, this is about 30 to 60 days after the termination of program coursework, unless the User opts into receiving communications from us, or reaches out to us directly regarding our Products.

We use the personal information you provide to us as follows:

• Product Delivery & Relevance: To deliver our Products and ensure they are relevant, effective, and aligned to your learning and leadership goals.
• Assessment & Development Insights: To collect, analyze, and report on assessment results, learning progress, participation metrics, and related feedback for the purposes of individual development, team alignment, and organizational insights, in accordance with our agreements with you or your employer.
• Enterprise Reporting: To allow Clients (e.g., your employer) to know how and when their employees have accessed our Products, and to share progress or results as permitted under the applicable client agreement.
• Platform Access & User Experience: To allow and manage access to our Sites, Products, and community features; to facilitate profiles, messaging, and group discussions; and to allow users to control their visibility and participation settings.
• Research & Product Improvement: To better understand behavior, leadership development trends, and program impact so we can create better leaders and improve our Products. We may use device data, professional data, and program engagement data in an aggregated, de-identified manner—meaning it cannot be linked back to you individually—for research, analytics, and reporting.
• Educational & Training Tools: To develop educational content, training materials, leadership analytics, and related tools that support the Athleadership™ methodology and improve user outcomes.
• Communications: To send important status updates, service messages, and product announcements; to alert you to upgrades, special offers, and new services; and to send newsletters or event invitations, if you have opted in. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time.
• Security, Compliance & Legal Obligations: To comply with applicable laws and regulations, respond to lawful requests, and protect the rights, safety, and security of our users, Clients, and systems.
• Third-Party Service Providers: To work with trusted service providers (such as learning management, CRM, hosting, analytics, and communication platforms) who process information on our behalf, under strict confidentiality and security requirements.
• Data Retention & Deletion: We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy and in accordance with client agreements, after which it will be securely deleted or de-identified unless you have opted to continue receiving communications or services.
• International Data Transfers: If your information is transferred outside your country of residence, we use approved safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses, or equivalent measures to ensure your information is protected.

We use your device data and professional data, in an aggregated, de-identified manner — which means that it cannot be attributable specifically to you — for research purposes so that we can improve our understanding of behavior and improve our Products.

We use your device data, professional data, and responses and behavioral information from the Athleadership Arena™ and leadership courses on an individual basis in a manner that identifies you in order to measure your progress in our leadership program.

We use your name and email address to send marketing emails, unless you "unsubscribe" or opt-out of receiving these emails.

We share data we collect with third parties to help us maintain our Sites and provide our Products. These companies are authorized to use personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us. These services may include:

• Providing login and Site security,
• Fulfilling orders,
• Payment processing,
• Providing customer service,
• Sending marketing communications,
• Fulfilling service requests,
• Conducting research and analysis, and
• Providing cloud computing infrastructure.

We also share your information with third parties under the following very limited circumstances:

User Information with Client. Our business is to provide training, and analysis to enable individuals and organizations to perform more successfully. Accordingly, if you have accessed our Products because of your relationship to our Client, we may share your personal information with that Client in an aggregated, pseudonymous manner – which means that your identity is hidden. For example, if you accessed our Products through your employer, we may share your personal information with your employer.

As you Explicitly Allow: We may share information about you as you explicitly allow. For example, before taking part in a survey hosted by our third-party partner or using our two-factor authenticator, you will be asked to consent by clicking a pop-up form.

Agents Acting on Our Behalf: We may share some of your information with other business partners who provide us with technical services. They will be granted access to only that information which is necessary for them to do their jobs. Any agents to whom we grant access to personal information are contractually barred from using or releasing that information outside of the specific task we have asked them to perform. We have various agreements, policies, safeguards and certifications to ensure that these agents do not sell, distribute or use this information.

Payment Services: We process payments through ACH transactions or third party payment providers such as Stripe. For ACH payments, we request your bank account information and transfer it to the ACH network. Any transaction that is processed through a third party provider is governed by that provider's privacy policy. You can identify who the third party provider is at check-out.

Surveys: We use a third party service, Zoho Survey, to survey and report on User experience. The survey is optional but helps us determine if our Sites and Products are useful and relevant. If you participate in the survey, Zoho Survey will collect your survey answers, device information, referral source (which link referred you to the survey), and page tag data, which may include the type of device you use, search themes, and click rates. Please visit Zoho Survey to learn more about their privacy practices.

For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information pursuant to judicial or other government subpoenas, warrants, orders, bankruptcy proceedings or similar legal process. We may also disclose your information if it is required to comply with the law, or with legal process served upon us, defend our legal rights or our property, or to act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our clients, employees, partners, or members of the public.

Acquisition: We may share information for purposes of an acquisition or merger of or by our company.

Our Sites contain links to other websites. When you click on the links you are rerouted to the third-party websites. We cannot control the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our Users to be aware when they leave our Sites and to read the privacy statements of the other websites they visit. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by our Sites and Products.

Our Sites include social media links, features and widgets, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, or interactive mini-programs. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our Sites and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy statements of the companies providing the features and, depending upon their policies and agreements, they may share information they collect about you with us.

Our Sites offer publicly accessible Question and Answer Forums, events and blogs. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas is public and may be viewed, read, collected, and used by others who access them. We do not have access to or control of the information or questions you or others post. If you want to delete your comments or questions, email us at info@velvetsuite.com.

We post Client and User testimonials on our Sites which may contain personally identifiable information such as your name, or photo. We obtain your consent to post your name along with your testimonial prior to posting the testimonial. Providing a testimonial is optional.

You may opt out and forbid our use of your personally identifiable information by emailing us at info@velvetsuite.com. If you opt out or forbid our use of certain information, you may not be able to use our Products, or the functionality of the Products may be diminished.

Velvet Suite does not maintain any physical servers or storage systems of our own. We partner with SiteGround for our computing power and database storage. We do not have access to our partner's physical servers or storage systems. To learn more about their privacy practices and security systems visit SiteGround.

Our Sites have multiple levels of security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the data under our control. We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to protect information using both server authentication and data encryption to help ensure that your information is safe and secure. We also implement an advanced security method based on dynamic data and encoded session identifications, and host our Sites in a secure server environment that uses firewalls, passwords, and other advanced technology, including a Nginx security module to prevent interference or access from outside intruders. Our systems provide daily backup to prevent data loss. We use a two-factor authentication powered by WP 2FA. We train employees and monitor access to our Sites. These safeguards help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of your information. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

While your account is active, you can change, update, correct or delete your account information by logging into your account and updating your user profile and account settings. Upon request we will provide you with information about whether we hold any of your personal information. To get a record of your personally identifiable information or request that we change or delete your account or personally identifiable information, please contact us by email at info@velvetsuite.com. We will respond within 30 days after we receive your request.

Our Products are not designed for minors or children under age 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If we discover that a minor or child under 13 has signed up for our Products or provided us with personally identifiable information, we will delete that child's personally identifiable information from our records.

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy. When we post changes to this Privacy Policy, we will revise the "last revised" date at the top of this statement. If there are material changes to this Policy, or material changes in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you prominently posting a notice of such changes prior to implementing them and giving you the option to opt-out of the new policy or procedures. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed about how Melissa Dawn Simkins collects and uses your personal information.

To our EU, UK and Swiss Users, we are committed to complying with the General Data Protection Regulation, UK Data Transfer Agreement and Swiss Data Protection UK and partnering with other businesses that share our commitment to privacy.

Melissa Dawn Simkins is located in the United States. We process the Personal Data we collect from you in the United States. We rely on derogations for specific situations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR. We also enter into data processing agreements whenever feasible.

We may be a "Data Processor" or "Data Controller". To learn more about what these terms mean, click here. To learn more about what the term "Personal Data" means click here.

Your Personal Data is transferred to us for the following reasons:

• You consented to the transfer;
• The transfer is necessary to perform a contract to which you are or will become a party;
• The transfer is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Data Controller (in most cases this is our Client) is subject;
• The transfer is necessary in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
• The transfer is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller; or
• The transfer is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Data Controller or by a third party.

Your data is processed in the United States.

You have the right to:

• Refuse or object to the processing of your Personal Data.
• Access the Personal Data we process.
• Be forgotten and have your Personal Data erased.
• Lodge a complaint with your Data Protection Authority.

If you are a User and not our Client, and wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact the Client through which you are accessing our Products – usually this is your employer. If you are our Client and wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@velvetsuite.com.

Please check with the employer to determine what those consequences might be.

If you are a User and received an invitation to use our Products, we received your email or other contact information from your Employer.

We offer you a means to choose how we may use your Personal Data. If you change your mind about receiving information from us or about sharing your Personal Data, send us a request specifying your new choice. Simply email, call or write us. Our contact information is located in the "Contact Us" section at the beginning of this statement. Please see How to Opt-Out for more information about our opt-out policy.

We retain your Personal Data for as long as the information is needed to provide Products and for any additional period necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Generally, for Users, this is about 30 to 60 days after the termination of the program course work, unless the User opts into receiving communications from us, or reaches out to us directly regarding our Products.

If you are a Client and wish to request that we no longer use your Personal Data contact us at info@velvetsuite.com. In most cases, we will delete your Personal Data within thirty (30) days of the date of your request. If you are not a Client and would like to request that we no longer use your Personal Data, please contact your Data Controller. Your Data Controller is typically the person or entity that granted you access to our Products, such as an employer.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact info@velvetsuite.com.

This section provides details about rights California consumers may exercise under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other California privacy and data protection laws, as applicable.

Under the CCPA, California consumers have the following rights:

The right to request to know more about the categories and specific pieces of "Personal Information," as defined by the CCPA, that we have collected about them and how that information has been used over the past 12 months. They may also request a copy of this information, free of charge.

The right to request that we delete Personal Information that we have collected about them, subject to certain exceptions.

If a business sells Personal Information, the right to opt-out of the sale. At the Melissa Dawn Simkins, we do not sell or share Personal Information that we collect about our users, as described in the CCPA.

The right not to be discriminated against if you choose to exercise any of these rights.

Under California's 'Shine the Light' law, California residents have the right to request certain information relating to "Personal Information", as defined here, that we have shared with third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes.

If you are a California resident and would like to exercise your rights under the CCPA or California's 'Shine the Light' law, email us at info@velvetsuite.com and include your mailing address and state of residence.

In addition to the protections offered in our general privacy policy, the TDPSA and NDPSA provide Texas and Nevada residents with the following rights:

• The right to opt out of the "sale" of your personal information as that term is defined under applicable law. We generally do not sell personal information, however, there are limited circumstances where we share personal information with our clients, third-party partners, or others that may be considered a "sale" under your state's laws.
• The right to opt out of targeted advertising.

Please email info@velvetsuite.com to opt out of the "sale" of your personal information or to exercise any other rights available to you under Texas or Nevada law.