TEAM
TEAM
Pastor Curtis Minter
Curtis didn’t always know that he was meant to be a leader of men, helping guide souls toward the path that God set before them. Instead, he was the normal kid of the late A.C. and Irene Minter, growing up on the streets of Akron, OH, looking up to his mentors and attempting to forge a place for himself in the world. It has always been said that people meant to teach God’s Word do not seek it out but are called upon. Rev Minter was no different, pursuing his own personal goals until he had no choice, he accepted his call to ministry in 1987. A skilled teacher and orator, Curtis is a student of history, in particular, the Civil Rights Movement. His passion and commitment to the healing of Akron and beyond, is seen in his
heart to help young black children develop their learning and life skills in order to become gifted, confident, successful young adults.
Gloria A. Terry
Gloria holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in business marketing from Hiram College and is a certified grief recovery specialist and certified mental health coach. In 2012, Ms. Terry founded Grace Academy of Small Wonders, a faith-based nonprofit with the mission to mentor elementary girls to demonstrate godly character, spiritual awareness, mental well-being, social skills, and etiquette. She has raised community awareness on reducing the stigma of mental illness especially in the African-American community and advocates for the prevention of child sexual abuse and domestic violence and abuse against women. Ms. Terry is a licensed and ordained minister of the Good News of Jesus and is employed part-time by Akron Public Schools district where she works as a family liaison and partners with the district to offer her girls’ program.
Steve Buie
Steve has been a leader in the education and personal development fields with a heart for transformation. As a former president of the Akron Rotary Club, his passion for healing our inner cities is seen in his commitment to providing solid education through the training and equipping of our children with crucial foundational learning skills, especially in reading. He is a co- founder of the Black Youth Success Movement, a national movement centered in Akron, Ohio.
Steve and his wife, Sharon, served as missionaries in Kharkiv, Ukraine. They led over 120 people from Akron for over 15 years while seeing the establishment of an economic development program, a crisis pregnancy center, and the supplying of equipment, medicines, and clothing for a children’s infectious disease hospital. Additionally, the Buies and their helpers, taught and helped Ukrainians build healthy marriages and families. The established relationships with Ukraine
continue to this day.
Nicholas Crutcher
Nicholas is a minister and servant of those in need. He was born into the gang life in Peoria, Illinois. His father was killed in the streets and his mother died of an overdose. He was in the foster system and eventually adopted. He was given the opportunity to serve in a summer camp as a teenager and has since offered summer camps to at-risk youth for the past 25 years serving over 25,000 youth. He is the CEO of Crutcher Cornerstone Community Development Corporation. The Black Youth Success Movement was born from his experiences.
Paul Cooke-Edwards
Co-founder of BYSM Paul is the regional manager for the northeast and the chapter coordinator for New York City. Co-founder of the Emotional Intelligence Urban Initiative (EIUI) under the International Society for Emotional Intelligence.
Bryce Harris
CEO/Founder, Always Climbing Project, Akron Ohio
https://www.alwaysclimbingproject.org/
Bryce graduated from The University of Toledo in 2021, where he played 7 years of college football. During his time in Toledo, he grew a passion for uplifting the youth and earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters in Counselor Education soon after. He is currently an Elementary School Counselor and Football Coach, while assisting many community initiatives focused on youth development.
Robert DeJournett
Robert is passionate about creating and building programs encouraging culture change and helping organizations navigate change. A natural consensus-builder and connector, Robert is known for skillfully guiding teams to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, achieving a positive impact with initiatives.
Robert served as the Vice President of Opportunity Inclusion for the Akron Chamber of Commerce. He led the work of Elevate Greater Akron’s Opportunity Akron strategy, a collaborative effort with the Chamber leadership, the City of Akron, the County of Summit, the GAR Foundation, and the local business community. Robert also organized and led the inaugural Inclusion Summit of Greater Akron.
Currently, he is the principal at DeJournett Consulting LLC. His mission is to assist businesses and organizations in furthering their missions by helping each to connect to appropriate resources, convene stakeholders and groups to attain their respective goals, and provide coaching in areas of business development with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Pastor Curtis Minter
Curtis didn’t always know that he was meant to be a leader of men, helping guide souls toward the path that God set before them. Instead, he was the normal kid of the late A.C. and Irene Minter, growing up on the streets of Akron, OH, looking up to his mentors and attempting to forge a place for himself in the world. It has always been said that people meant to teach God’s Word do not seek it out but are called upon. Rev Minter was no different, pursuing his own personal goals until he had no choice, he accepted his call to ministry in 1987. A skilled teacher and orator, Curtis is a student of history, in particular, the Civil Rights Movement. His passion and commitment to the healing of Akron and beyond, is seen in his
heart to help young black children develop their learning and life skills in order to become gifted, confident, successful young adults.
Gloria A. Terry
Gloria holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in business marketing from Hiram College and is a certified grief recovery specialist and certified mental health coach. In 2012, Ms. Terry founded Grace Academy of Small Wonders, a faith-based nonprofit with the mission to mentor elementary girls to demonstrate godly character, spiritual awareness, mental well-being, social skills, and etiquette. She has raised community awareness on reducing the stigma of mental illness especially in the African-American community and advocates for the prevention of child sexual abuse and domestic violence and abuse against women. Ms. Terry is a licensed and ordained minister of the Good News of Jesus and is employed part-time by Akron Public Schools district where she works as a family liaison and partners with the district to offer her girls’ program.
Steve Buie
Steve has been a leader in the education and personal development fields with a heart for transformation. As a former president of the Akron Rotary Club, his passion for healing our inner cities is seen in his commitment to providing solid education through the training and equipping of our children with crucial foundational learning skills, especially in reading. He is a co- founder of the Black Youth Success Movement, a national movement centered in Akron, Ohio.
Steve and his wife, Sharon, served as missionaries in Kharkiv, Ukraine. They led over 120 people from Akron for over 15 years while seeing the establishment of an economic development program, a crisis pregnancy center, and the supplying of equipment, medicines, and clothing for a children’s infectious disease hospital. Additionally, the Buies and their helpers, taught and helped Ukrainians build healthy marriages and families. The established relationships with Ukraine continue to this day.
Nicholas Crutcher
Nicholas is a minister and servant of those in need. He was born into the gang life in Peoria, Illinois. His father was killed in the streets and his mother died of an overdose. He was in the foster system and eventually adopted. He was given the opportunity to serve in a summer camp as a teenager and has since offered summer camps to at-risk youth for the past 25 years serving over 25,000 youth. He is the CEO of Crutcher Cornerstone Community Development Corporation. The Black Youth Success Movement was born from his experiences.
Paul Cooke-Edwards
Co-founder of BYSM Paul is the regional manager for the northeast and the chapter coordinator for New York City. Co-founder of the Emotional Intelligence Urban Initiative (EIUI) under the International Society for Emotional Intelligence.
The Black Youth Success Movement operates under Success4rkids, a 501c3 nonprofit based in Akron, Ohio. Although we focus on uplifting Black Youth, all youth are welcome. Imagine if all Black Youth achieved their full potential, created educational equity and led the nation in solving the reading crisis for all students.
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The Black Youth Success Movement operates under Success4rkids, a 501c3 nonprofit based in Akron, Ohio. Although we focus on uplifting Black Youth, all youth are welcome. Imagine if all Black Youth achieved their full potential, created educational equity and led the nation in solving the reading crisis for all students.