2018 Fellows

Justin Brown is the founder of Fresh Academy, an organization that is dedicated to helping Baltimore City youth thrive at their maximum capacity, and a data entry research specialist at Coppin State University. Justin believes his life’s purpose is “service above self” and has demonstrated this concept through his work for over a decade. While Justin is a multi-skilled professional, he thrives in service oriented environments. He is a member of the Greater Chesapeake Ambassador’s Circle, where he participates in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and has volunteered with numerous organizations such as Our Daily Bread and the Maryland Food Bank. Justin has a B.S. in Management (Marketing) from Coppin State University.

Rudy Lee Daniel, III is a Baltimore native with a zeal for uplifting his community, and works tirelessly to pour into the lives of others while helping them birth their greatest potential and purpose. As an executive minister at Giant Steps Church of Baltimore and while working on policies with the Deputy Mayor's Office of Education, he has developed programs, events, curricula, in addition to facilitating experiences that help youth foster character development. Rudy has spent his career supporting youth and serving as their spiritual support during traumatic times and empowering men to be of great character and integrity. After playing Division 1 football, he developed a passion for revealing social injustices that plague boys and men alike, particularly those within the African American community. Rudy is a graduate of Morgan State University, has served as public policy intern for Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and is the recipient of the 2014 and 2015 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr scholarship award. He is currently a third year masters of divinity student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and his research interests include theology, professional leadership, and education philosophy. The motto that he seeks to inspire and live by is “Love God, Love people, and prove It”.

Kelsey Johnson is the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group (JJSG) Youth Advisory Council Coordinator at Community Law in Action (CLIA) and founder of “#WEARWORDS”, a campaign that promotes mental health awareness by encouraging people to let go of issues that have their minds in bondage. She is also the former chair of the Baltimore City Youth Commission. As a victim of sexual assault and domestic violence, Kelsey strives to support young ladies on their journey of self-discovery and teaches them to not allow circumstances to define who they are. A West Baltimore native, Kelsey graduated in the top 25% of her class from Baltimore City College in 2009 and journeyed off to North Carolina A&T State University on a full academic scholarship for mechanical engineering. Similar to many people she became distracted, homesick, and unclear of her purpose, and made the choice to return to Baltimore. While searching to find herself she advanced her professional makeup skills, non-profit knowledge, and marketing ability. Kelsey now sits on the Board of Directors for the Family League of Baltimore and the advisory boards for Safe Streets Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.

Charles Xavier Kilborn is an Atlanta native who relocated to the DMV area in 2015. He is a performance poet, self-care and mental health wellness advocate, and case manager at the GLCCB, the sexuality and gender minority community center for Baltimore and Central Maryland. As a man of trans experience, Charles Xavier feels it is his responsibility to use his transition as a way to facilitate open conversations about intersectionality and the importance of living a life that is true to the authentic self. Through his poetry and activism, he hopes to motivate others to care more deeply and intentionally for themselves and each other.

Jonathan Moore believes that change from the bottom-up helps to nurture human good as a thriving community asset. Jonathan’s career started in the mailroom of a Baltimore City advertising agency and then as a Jr. copywriter with an advertising agency in New York City on Madison Avenue. During Jonathan’s 15 year run as a copywriter, he worked with general market and multicultural ad agencies on accounts such as, Pontiac, Coke, AAA, Partnership for a Drug Free America, Value City, Men’s Health, Ford, and many more. As the CEO of Rowdy Orbit, a for-profit company that develops strategic impact solutions, Jonathan is leading the charge with the firm’s latest venture

“Greater > Than”, a 34-week coding initiative that focuses on training African American and Hispanic adult individuals to learn HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, Node.js, SQL, React, and WordPress. After completion, participants will be placed within an entry-level technology position starting at $45,000+ per year.

Larry C. Simmons, a West Baltimore native, is the program manager of ReCast Baltimore, an initiative through the Baltimore City Health Department funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. ReCast is driven by a community board, youth commission, and community coalition—made up of community members, community-based organizations, young people, faith communities, city agencies, funding partners, and resource providers. ReCast Baltimore is working to organize, empower, and restore a once thriving Central West Baltimore—Sandtown-Winchester, Druid Heights-Upton, and Penn North—by taking a public health lens and community-driven approach to addressing trauma and building capacity in small CBO’s, breaking down silos, organizing, providing funding resources and support services, and celebrating the resiliency in young people between the ages of 14 and 24, post Freddie Gray. With over 17 years of experience as a program manager, organizer, and community school coordinator with organizations such as, The Y of Central Maryland, Child First Authority, and Elev8 Baltimore, Larry has dedicated his career to the young people of Baltimore and believes that the future of our community depends on the success of our children.

Rashad Staton is a 26-year-old Baltimore native, entrepreneur, and community organizer. As the youth engagement specialist for City Schools Office of Engagement, Rashad works to expand the district’s reach in the community in support of youth advocacy and leadership. Prior to this role, he worked for the Family League of Baltimore as a youth and community engagement specialist. Rashad is the co-founder of two businesses—BeMore Consulting, LLC (The BeMore Group), an organization that provides consultation on subjects such as youth development, community engagement, and financial literacy, and It Takes One Inc., a scholarship award and mentoring program for first generation graduating seniors in Baltimore City Public Schools that are entering college. He has served as the vice chair of the Baltimore City Youth Commission and furthered his passion for public service and civic engagement in 2016 when he campaigned as one of Baltimore City’s youngest democratic candidates for Baltimore City Council for the 12th District.

Rashad is a Fellow for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement’s Building Beloved Community Leadership Fellowship (BBCLF) and is a 2017 recipient of Community Law in Action’s (CLIA) Inspiring Voices award. He graduated top of his class from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and holds a BA in Political Science from Morgan State University. Currently, he is pursuing a Masters of Public Administration with a specialization in Non-Profit Management at the University of Baltimore.