Khari Brown is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Spark the Journey, a 31-year old nonprofit organization that provides mentorship and a community of support to young adults in the Washington, DC area to help them achieve college and career success. Khari began leading Spark in 2001 as Executive Director and became CEO in 2015. Beginning as its only employee, he has grown Spark’s student body from 50 students to more than 600 annually, while also building a broader set of wraparound services and programs to promote student success. By leveraging the power of hundreds of trained volunteers on a daily basis, Spark has been remarkably successful in helping its students overcome the barriers that limit most low-income students. Under Khari’s leadership, Spark has seen 60% of its graduates complete college on time, a rate that is nearly triple that of similar students nationally.
Khari is a co-founder of the Talent for Tomorrow Alliance – a network of 5 peer organizations that prepares more than 300 local young adults for economic mobility through an integrated set of career preparatory and higher education programming opportunities. He is the 2022 winner of the Georgetown University John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award, which honors one Washington, D.C. community leader each year who is working to solve key issues for people in the city. He is a member of the 2021 Class of Leadership Greater Washington’s signature program - an intensive 10-month program that exposes professionals to regional civic issues through education, connection, and knowledge sharing. Khari also received the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, D.C. Social Enterprise Scholarship Award in 2017 for excellence in leadership and commitment to the Greater Washington, D.C. community. A noted author and speaker, Khari has published many articles on mentoring, education and youth development and frequently speaks at conferences, events and to youth groups.
Khari earned both a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies and a Master’s degree in Education from Tufts University. A two-time captain of the Tufts basketball team, Khari played professional basketball in Helsinki, Finland upon graduating from college. He spent five years coaching high school and college basketball in the Boston area. Khari’s passion for working with low-income teens through his various coaching experiences led him to pursue a career in expanding educational opportunities for low-income youth. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two school-aged children.
Khari Brown, A94, AG01