Geoffery Canada
CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone
Dissatisfied with the results of most organizations helping the urban poor in the mid-1990s, Canada launched an experiment, an effort to reach all the kids in a 24-block zone of New York City — he called it the Harlem Children’s Zone — and give them education, social, and medical help starting at birth. The idea was to make success a self-reinforcing phenomenon, as children and their families saw it all around them and recalibrated their expectations. The experiment has worked spectacularly. The zone now covers over 100 blocks and serves more than 12,000 children, with 95% of high school seniors going off to college. Canada plans to step down as CEO later this year, but his idea — and leadership here — will no doubt endure.
Why I chose Geoffery Canada?
Visionary educational leader helping the African American community of Harlem, New York. His program is very successful for the graduations and educational success of many afericna American children