The definition of a leader is: “a person who guides or inspires others.” With his selfless enthusiasm for youth, Dominic Stokes is the embodiment of a leader. After years of working as an operations manager, Stokes finally listened to the call God placed on his heart and began his full-time work with youth.
In 2007, Stokes founded Community Teen Coalition, Inc. (CTC) a youth social entrepreneurship program designed to generate the skills and motivation teens need for future success in post-secondary and entrepreneurship education. Upon watching the news, he became bothered by the constant reporting of teen crime, arrests and deaths mostly within the African-American community. Going along with that news, came the discovery of a sharp decline among youth in matriculation through college, as well as a lack of motivation, goal-setting and optimism of their future.
Part of the goal of CTC is to prepare and encourage youth to “create a job”, rather than “get a job”. The organization assists teens with the ability to develop social enterprises and foster a next generation of entrepreneurs – both job creators and entrepreneurial employees.
Through his work with CTC, Stokes was led to use the power of visual storytelling to produce “Atlanta’s Young and Homeless” and is currently working on “If Streets Could Talk Atlanta” a documentary focusing on the mindset of Atlanta youth and their interest and involvement in gangs. Stokes’ overall goal is to equip and empower youth with the necessary tools to be the change they want to see in the world.
Dominic holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business from Clayton State University, a Master’s of Science in Human Resources from Central Michigan University and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgia State University.
