Having grown up with the benefit of youth development programs, Brunswick, Georgia native Artis Stevens knows from personal experience the life-changing impact of mentorship. After ten years as national vice president for the Boys and Girls Club of America, Stevens became senior vice president and CMO for the 4-H Club of America. In 2020, he was named the first-ever Black president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS).
Over his tenure, Stevens has worked to create a variety of equitable programs for children across a diversity of communities. From partnering with the NBA and the NFL to collaborating with Alpha Phi Alpha and Lambda Theta Phi (the first national fraternities established for African American and Latino men, respectively) to increase the numbers of male mentors across the country, he has established BBBS as the foremost youth mentoring program. Under Stevens’s aegis, BBBS has proven the critical impact that youth mentorship has “to address the world’s greatest challenges—from equity and access to justice and opportunity.” This year, he was awarded the Golden Halo Award for his outstanding social impact achievements, and hopes that his work will “spark a global conversation about how to empower and uplift young people.”
