Geoffrey Canada

Geoffrey Canada is renowned around the world for his pioneering work helping children and families, and as a thought leader and passionate advocate for education reform across the country. Canada created the Harlem Children’s Zone, a birth-through-college network of programs that today serves more than 13,000 low-income students and families in a 97-block area of Central Harlem in New York City. The unprecedented success of the Harlem Children’s Zone has attracted the attention of the media and leaders around the world. In 2011, Canada was named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine and as one of the 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine in 2014. President Barack Obama created the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone model across the country. After 30 years with the organization, Canada stepped down in 2014 as Chief Executive Officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone but continues to serve as President. In June 2020, Canada founded The William Julius Wilson Institute (WJW), which serves as the national platform to help communities impacted by poverty across the country design and implement their own place-based programs. Currently we are implementing an innovative initiative focused on narrowing the racial wealth gap and building economic mobility in the Black community.