sustainable initiatives and programs that leave a lasting legacy locally, nationally and internationally. Helping change the community through the promotion of good works is my passion.” In the future, Howard would like to continue working with nonprofit organizations and causes to help elevate issues and bring awareness to the needs, as well as the resources, which exist in the community and make an impact globally – especially around the issue of hunger.
JOHN-CLAUDE FUTRELL
Career Advisor and Job Developer Denver Housing Authority's Youth Employment Academy
John-Claude Futrell is known as a youth mentor and instructor, having over 20-plus years of work experience in the non-profit sector and has worked for such organizations as The Urban League of Metropolitan Denver, The Salvation Army, The Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (of which he now is a sitting board member) and Metropolitan State College of Denver's Center for the Visual Arts. This past year, through Denver Housing Authority's Youth Employment Academy, Futrell has helped high school students in encouraging them in pursuing a college education by taking them to college campus trips, building resumes for the workforce, and internships throughout the Denver Metro Area. He does his best in working to point young people who need guidance in the right direction either professionally or academically and says that his greatest inspiration comes from the lives of his beloved grandparents, Edna and John Mosley, whom spent their lives in the service of others. Futrell is also known as a creative in both the Slam poetry and Hip Hop scene. His many goals consist of to one day walk the sands of Sierra Leone, get published, own a boat and sail the world, take care of loved ones both emotionally and financially, make more music, draw and read more, and smile a few more times before he is called home. Futrell would like to be remembered simply “as a man who knew nothing and everything at once. Memorials are only good for those who grieve, when I pass, I pray my deeds will live through the generosity of those whom I have touched.”
ty for ministering the love of Jesus Christ holistically to hurting and broken families by empowering others in church to serve one another both locally and globally all to the glory of God. He also reaches to the elderly in the church seeking to meet their needs, mentor, advise and coach for young men, and continues to serve on a the boards for American Pathways University and Whiz Kids, an after school tutoring program which targets inner city youth. Over the past five years, Roberts has sought to encourage youth to get a college education, of which a number of them have successfully completed their schooling. His church now has a scholarship program to support the youth in their efforts to continue their schooling. In the future, he hopes to see churches and other institutions to do even a better job of creating boys to men relationships, with an emphasis of reaching out to impoverished, at risk young men. He believes one-on- one mentoring relationships are vitally necessary for our young men’s survival and the Black family’s stability. Over the years, Pastor Roberts has personally been involved in fostering such relationships in the church as well as in the community and he would like to do even a better job as facilitator in the upcoming years. He would like to be remembered for his love for God, his family, his church family, and his love for all people in general. He would like to be remembered for caring very much about people.
JONATHAN MCMILLAN
Founder Director, Be Better than Average
Jonathan McMillan is best known for working towards reducing gang involvement by teaching personal development/success skills workshops and mentoring young men of color throughout the metro area. He is also an activist for criminal justice reform, particularly in the juvenile justice system. Over the past five years, McMillan has been volunteering with Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives and mentoring African American children through his work with the Denver My Brother's Keeper Initiative. He has seen how social, economic and political manipulations have created the defeatist mentality/inferiority complex that has destroyed many African Americans people’s hope thus allowed their communities to be destroyed through drugs, gangs and worse apathy and says, “It’s up to us to teach our community the same principles that successful people use to avoid and overcome the obstacles they face.” McMillan’s ultimate goal is to have success skills/personal development courses mandatory in every elementary, middle and high school in America and to pass legislation which mandates that restorative justice practices are mandatory in every school in Colorado to stop the school to prison pipeline. When asked how he would like to be remembered, McMillan states, “I want my legacy to be known as a beacon of inspiration for what is possible when you choose to live a better than average life. Even if I’m not specifically remembered for doing it, I want to restore hope to our community for generations and generations to come.”
KHADIJA HAYNES
President and CEO K-Solutions
Khadija Haynes is best known for her lifelong work as a community activist and political strategist and advisor and for her work in Denver’s arts world. In addition to her ongoing work as a lobbyist and political advisor for many community organizations and a wide variety of corporate clients, her work over the past year has centered around economic development and transportation justice in Far Northeast Denver. Haynes is also a co-founder of Colorado Black Arts Movement, an organization that supports AfricanAmerican artists in Colorado. Her community activities over the years
PASTOR KENNETH E. ROBERTS
Pastor (Retired), Anchor of Hope Church
Pastor Kenneth E. Roberts is best known as a retired senior pastor of Anchor of Hope Church in Denver. He is best known in the Denver communi-
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – February 2016
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include member and past president of the Colorado Black Women for Political Action; past national board member of Victory Fund; member of Zoning and Planning Committee with Stapleton Development Corporation; Board of Directors for the National Western Stock Show; Board of Directors of Colorado Horse Council, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and many more. She has also received many awards including Maverick Thinkers Award from Urban Peak, Torch of Liberty Award from AntiDefamation League, and the Political Award from the Colorado Black Women for Political Action. Haynes would like to be remembered as a creative problem solver; a person who laughed, sang, cared deeply, loved fully, embraced challenges and made an earnest effort to make life better for her family and community
NADINE BRIDGES, MSW
Director of Youth Service/Rainbow Alley GLBT Center of Colorado Adjunct Professor/Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver
Nadine Bridges is best known for her commitment to youth development, supporting marginalized communities and her dedication to social justice issues. During the past year, she marched with Black Lives Matter, educated others on the murders of Transgender woman of color, and facilitated trainings for community members serving LGBTQ Black youth. She educates others on understanding and disrupting their privileged identities to do authentic work in the fight for social justice including racial and gender equality. Over the years, Bridges has fought against the inequities that continue to harm and damage African American communities through education, facilitations, and mentoring. She has supported youth to be courageous, understanding their history, and find the power in their voices and minds to dismantle this institution and continue to rise. When asked why Bridges chooses to take an active role, she said, “My father raised me to be a strong Black queer female. He taught me and my siblings to demand respect and never allow anyone to get in the way of success. He educated us on the stereo-