10 Dynamic and Influential Black People Of The Last Decade

Geoffrey Canada

There’s been plenty of talk about education reform lately, but Geoffrey Canada is one person who has been all action for at least 20 years. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Harlem Children’s Zone oversees what The New York Times Magazine called “one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time.” The community-based organization focuses on ending generational poverty by promoting educational excellence from early childhood through college. It began a network of programs within a 24-block area in 2001 and expanded into nearly 100 blocks by 2007 and serves more than 17,000 children and 7,400 adults. Several ground-breaking programs have been instituted at the agency, including the Baby College parenting workshops, the Harlem Gems pre-school program, the HCZ Asthma Initiative, which helps families better manage the disease; the Promise Academy, a public charter school; and an obesity program.