The Philadelphia native holds a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies and Philosophy from Bates College in Lewiston, ME, and received his master’s degree in Black Religion in the African Diaspora from Yale. He studied at Morehouse College as a visiting student in Atlanta, Ga., during 2008-2009. He is completing a Ph.D. in Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

How does it feel to be nominated?
I love the work I do. So being nominated is in recognition of the work and people who work with me to achieve great progress for youth in Philadelphia.

What are your plans for the future?
Going forward I plan to continue working in the area of youth development, particularly mentoring, civic engagement and college access work with youth. Simultaneously, I’m interested in being a professor at a small liberal arts college or a historically Black college. This will give me a chance to support young adults at the collegiate level as well.

What are you most passionate about?
I’m really passionate about youth having mentors. Currently, I spend as much time as I can, mentoring many young people. Mentoring is informal, yet it should have some level of intentionality and structure to it. You want young people to set goals when you mentor them, and you want to help them progress through those goals. I had mentors growing up and still have mentors. I a firm believer that mentoring makes a significant difference in helping young people make decisions that would lead to success in college, careers, and service to their communities.

What does being part of the Diaspora mean to you?
It means being a part of a community of diverse thinking individuals who have a shared ancestral history of enduring struggle and collectively working together to achieve.”