Detroit Native
Stanford Alum
Powerhouse Speaker
Inclusion Innovator
Irreverent Reverend
From Detroit’s roughest and proudest communities to elite boarding school in New England and college at Stanford University, I learned about culture shock early. I also learned that if I chose to, I could use my personal experiences to galvanize and educate others. For over 30 years, I have done just that. From police accountability and youth development in Oakland to preaching and teaching at Stanford, I have inspired, organized and educated over 50,000 students, teachers, boards, philanthropists and administrators in conferences, churches, community groups and corporate and educational institutions.
I began my career serving as a nonprofit executive for 20 years, developing nationally-adopted experiential curriculum and raising over $5 million dollars for urban youth. In 2004, I organized the National Hip Hop Political Convention and in 2009 as a member of the Braintrust of Susan L. Taylor’s A New Way Forward Initiative, I helped design their healing and mentoring work in Oakland, Chicago, Miami and Detroit. The County of Alameda honored me with a Distinguished Citizen’s Award for my service in youth and community development.
I also co-led the effort to organize the Bay Area community response to the murder of Oscar Grant III by transit police. After mobilizing thousands of protestors and holding countless meetings and rallies I began to question the strategy of organizing “against” rather than “for.” I entered ministerial school and have never looked back, becoming one of the nation’s leading speakers on spiritual activism.
As a professional consultant, I have worked with educators, ministers, court systems, philanthropists, administrators, boards and corporate leaders to craft, practices, policies and programs that center and uplift marginalized communities and build authentic connections for those who seek to be their allies.
At Stanford, I served as the Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Diversity and First-Generation Office where I received awards for student advocacy, staff professional development and partnerships with everyone from student community centers to the President and Provost’s offices. I have been the featured presenter for workshops for all incoming students at Stanford including undergraduates as well as Law, Medical and Business School students.
In communities from Dallas to Singapore, I am known as the “Irreverent Reverend”, the “Inclusion Innovator” and “The Realest Speaker I Ever Heard.” My passion is justice, my philosophy is love, and my tools are my powerful voice as an advocate and my loving presence as a healer.