Background

Geoffrey Canada was born on January 13, 1952, to McAlister and Mary Canada in the South Bronx, New York City. His mother was a substance abuse counsellor and his father suffered from chronic alcoholism. His mother raised him and his three brothers in the South Bronx after she divorced his father in 1956.

Growing up poor Canada was raised among the crime, violence and an all-encompassing sense of chaos found in low-income urban neighbourhoods. Yet his mother strongly instilled the value of education in him at an early age. In his teens, Canada was sent to live with his grandparents, both ordained Baptist ministers, in Freeport, Long Island.

Education

Canada attended Wyandanch Memorial High School where he received the Fraternal Order of Masons scholarship his senior year. He then enrolled in Bowdoin College in 1970, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology in 1974. A year later he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

During his career, Geoffrey Canada has received honorary degrees from Harvard University, Bowdoin College, Williams College, John Jay College, Bank Street College and Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary.

Career

Upon receiving his degree, Canada worked as a supervisor at Camp Freedom in Ossipe, New Hampshire from 1974 to 1975. From 1975 to 1976, he worked at the Robert White School in Boston, Massachusetts as a teacher and counselor. In 1976, he became the associate director at the school, and from 1977 to 1981, he served as the director.

In 1983, Canada returned to New York City to become the program director for the Rheedlen Institute’s Truancy Prevention Program in New York.

In 1990, he left his position at Rheedlen and founded Harlem Children’s Zone, a charter school expressly founded to increase high school and college rates among students in Harlem while simultaneously providing parents with tools to help their children succeed. He held the position of the President and Chief Executive Officer till 2014. As of July 1, 2014, Canada stepped down as CEO, handing the reins to COO Anne Williams-Isom. He continues to serve as President of the Harlem Children’s Zone and Promise Academy Boards.

In 2006, Canada was selected by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to serve as co-chair of the Commission on Economic Opportunity, responsible for formulating a plan to significantly reduce poverty. In 2011, he was appointed to the New York State Governor’s Council of Economic and Fiscal Advisors. He is also an advisor and board member of several nonprofit organizations, including the Children's Defense Fund. Previously, he was a member of the board of directors of The After-School Corporation, a nonprofit organization that aims to expand educational opportunities for all students.

Achievements

• Having worked with the Harlem Children’s Zone for more than 30 years, Geoffrey Canada is renowned around the world for his pioneering work helping children and families in Harlem, and as a thought leader and passionate advocate for education reform.
  
  Under Geoffrey Canada’s visionary leadership, Harlem Children’s Zone has become a national model and the subject of significant media attention. It has been featured in the documentary Waiting for “Superman,” as well as on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Anderson Cooper 360°, Black in America 2, The Charlie Rose Show, This American Life, and in articles in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Associated Press.
  
  In 2008, Houghton Mifflin published Whatever It Takes, by Paul Tough, a detailed look at the work of Mr Canada and Harlem Children’s Zone, which The New York Times called “one of the most ambitious social-policy experiments of our time.” In 2011, Mr Canada was also named to the TIME 100 list of most influential people in the world and, in March 2014, was named one of Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders in the world.
  
  As an author, Geoffrey Canada wrote two books. Canada's first book, Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America, was first released in 1995 and his second book, Reaching Up For Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America, released in 1998.
  
  In the mid 2000s (decade), Beacon Press began considering publishing an alternate graphic novel version. Illustrator Jamar Nicholas and editor Allison Trzop created Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence (A True Story in Black and White), which was released in stores on September 14, 2010.
  
  In July 2013 The New Yorker Festival released a video entitled, Geoffrey Canada on Giving Voice to the Have-nots, of a panel that was moderated by George Packer.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Reaching Up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America

    (Here, Canada draws on his years of work with inner-city y...)

    1998
  • Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence

    (In his candid and riveting memoir, Canada relives a child...)

    1995

Views

Geoffrey Canada’s political philosophy is both liberal and conservative, meaning he believes the economy systematically disfavors poor people no matter how hard they work, but he also believes poor parents need to raise their children better.

Geoffrey Canada is a philanthropist.

Connections

In 1972, Canada married Joyce Henderson and had two children, Melina and Jerry. They divorced and Canada married Yvonne Grant. They also have two children, Bruce and Geoffrey, Jr.

Father:

McAlister Canada

Mother:

Mary Elizabeth (Williams) Canada

Brother:

Derrick Dwayne Canada

Derrick Canada is a former Harlem Globetrotters Player.

ex-wife:

Joyce Henderson

Daughter:

Melina Canada

Son:

Jerry Canada

Wife:

Yvonne (Grant) Canada

Son:

Bruce Canada

Son:

Geoffrey, Jr. Canada

References

• Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America
  2009