INDIVIDUAL Spotlight On :
Kwame Johnson
Kwame is the President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA). Kwame oversees the largest and most effective youth mentoring agency in the state of GA. Kwame directs a team of 50 staff that provide support to over 1,400 one-to-one mentoring relationships that have powerful and positive effects that change our youth lives for the better.
Kwame found his passion while incarcerated during his senior year of high school. During this challenging time, he decided to change his life and made history by becoming the first youth to ever take his SATs in jail. Kwame was accepted into Hampton University and decided to leave college at the age of 19 to become a social entrepreneur and has dedicated his life to service and helping our youth reach their full potential.
Kwame’s passion led him to Washington DC where he worked in youth development for over 12 years. Kwame served as the National Program Director for the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise focused on helping residents of low-income neighborhoods address the problems of their communities. Kwame also served as the Director of Corporate Relations for the national office of Communities In Schools the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization. Prior to joining, BBBSMA Kwame served as the Executive Director of the Greater Atlanta Region for PowerMyLearning, where he increased the organization's revenue by 65% and program reach by 115% within three years.
Kwame has received national recognition for his work to include the Social Entrepreneur Program of the Year Award from the Manhattan Institute. Kwame recently received the highly distinguished Atlanta Business Chronicle 2020 Most Admired CEO Award and the Atlanta Business League 2020 Men of Influence Award. Kwame has received both the Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 Under 40 Award and the Georgia Trends 40 Under 40 Award. He is also a recipient of the coveted Morehouse College Dr. Joseph Draper Service Award. He was the first person that was not an alumni to receive the service award.
Kwame is a recent graduate of Leadership Atlanta and holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland and he holds Executive Education Certificates in Nonprofit Strategy and Fundraising from NYU, Babson, and Harvard University. Kwame is married to Sabria and they have one son, Kwame Jr. who is 8 and wears a size 8.5 shoe.