The DARE2XL After School Program was developed by Dr. Donald E. Sheffield, President of TAME, Inc. (Techniques Assisting Motivation and Excellence). DARE2XL was the Winner Of The HUD "Best Practices" Award 2000.  At Penn State University, Dr. Sheffield serves as the Assistant to the Vice Provost for Outreach and Cooperative Extension and Affiliate Professor of Education in the College of Education.

Dr. Sheffield developed the idea for the DARE2XL Program and its Excellence Conditioning Model during his years as an academic advisor in the athletic department at Penn State as the administrative assistant to Joe Paterno.