We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kwame Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kwame below.

Kwame, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?

This past year has been a significant growth and scaling year for us. Mayor Andre Dickens declared 2023 as the “Year of the Youth” and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta was honored to partner with the mayor to make our city a better place for young people. We were able to grow our programs significantly, increasing the number of youth served by 43% to more than 1900.
This growth was fueled by program innovation, especially through our Level Up program. Level Up is a large-scale mentoring program that utilizes paid mentors embedded full-time in middle schools. Launched in September of 2022, this program grew to serve more than 800 students at five schools in 2023. Level Up grew out of the needs expressed by principals in the community, and I’m proud that we have been able to respond to that need in such a meaningful way.

Another focus in 2023 was strengthening and expanding our program for teens by helping them build strong career paths after high school. We increased the number of workplace mentoring partnerships for our Beyond School Walls program, which pairs corporations with high schools to promote workforce development for students. We also re-launched our Big Futures program to provide opportunities for career exposure and exploration for the 577 high school students enrolled in any of our programs.

Most of all, I am proud of the success of our young people. Overall, 97% of the seniors in our program graduated from high school on time and 91% had plans for education, employment, enlistment or entrepreneurship following graduation. 99% of our youth avoided the juvenile justice system. Throughout the year and in all our programs, our Littles showed how mentorship helps them make better choices, to solve problems in everyday situations and become confident and happier.

The support of our families, donors, volunteers, board members and staff made it possible for us to exceed our fundraising goals and grow our programs. We give them our heartfelt thanks for investing in our mission in so many ways. Thank you for joining us to defend the potential of Atlanta’s next generation of leaders.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I consider myself a social entrepreneur and, more importantly, a defender of potential. As a social entrepreneur, I have been working on solving the biggest problem our city/country has, which is poverty. The fastest way out of poverty is obtaining a high school diploma. I am happy to share that we are planning a big part of solving poverty through mentorship and defending the potential of our youth. As I shared last year, 97% of our seniors graduated high school on time with a plan.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My old neighborhood got pulled into a vicious gang-infested downward spiral. I walked the line for as long as I could, but at 17, I got caught up in a lifestyle that caused me to lose everything. I was kicked out of school, lost my job, and my family was publicly humiliated. Due to one bad decision, I was incarcerated in the New York State Department of Corrections. During my incarceration, I met two young men who changed my life forever. The first was Alvin. Alvin was a fighter who was constantly sent to the “hole.” I asked him why he was so angry and he told me how he met his father for the first time when they both were in jail. The second was Shank. Shank was in a gang. His father was killed at an early age and his mother was addicted to drugs. Where else was there for him to go except prison? When I had served my time and was walking out the prison, Alvin and Shank said something powerful to me. “Don’t forget us!” I have spent my life working for kids like Alvin and Shank.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I lean into my superpower. I think every leader needs to find their passion and their superpower(s). One of my superpowers is my ability to bring people from “All Walks of Life” together on a shared vision. My motto is “I am as comfortable communicating in a suit as I am in the streets.” I am a storyteller, and I do have a story to tell. A story of overcoming crippling obstacles to become the man I am today. In my current role, I speak to audiences as large as 30,000 people at the State Farm Arena and as intimate as a group of CEOs at a Rotary Club meeting.

I am the CEO of BBBS but, more importantly, a Defender of Potential (Head Mascot). My daily work requires me to build relationships and communicate with many stakeholders, including C-suite business leaders, celebrities, politicians, families, and community leaders.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bbbsatl.org
• Instagram: kwamejonhnsonsr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwamejohnson/