February 6, 2025
Dear Friends of Spark the Journey,
On behalf of Spark the Journey, I write with the news that our President and CEO, Khari Brown, informed the Board of Directors that this will be his last school year leading our organization. We, the Board, staff, mentors, donors, friends and the young people that we serve, will miss Khari tremendously. Nonetheless, we are cheering him on as he pursues his next professional endeavor as a leadership coach and consultant. We will launch a national search for his successor in the next few weeks.
Khari’s leadership over nearly 25 years has made a huge impact on the lives of many young people. He began as our only employee in 2001 and built Spark the Journey from a small scholarship program reaching 50 students per year to a nationally recognized mentoring organization. Spark now has multiple program lines that support more than 600 students in their preparation for college and career success.
While at the helm, Khari has touched the lives of more than 1,700 local youth by opening doors to opportunity and helping them discover the power within themselves to find success. Khari and our talented team have expanded the depth and breadth of our programming, while also rebranding the organization from Capital Partners for Education to Spark the Journey in 2022. With Spark’s support, participants complete college and post-secondary education at three times the rate of their similarly situated national peers. These young people have a remarkable ripple effect on their families and their communities.
Khari’s vision, resilience, and passion for this work is inspired by his experience as a college and high school basketball coach and his success playing at the university and professional levels. As a coach, he saw firsthand how promising students have little access to the guidance and support needed to prepare for success in college and careers. This led to his vision that mentorship would be critical for their future success. For his work breaking barriers for low-income students, Khari was awarded the John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award by Georgetown University in 2022.
Thanks to Khari’s leadership, our next President and CEO will take the helm of a successful organization now more recognized than ever for our impact on the lives of young people. Based largely on our record of successful outcomes, Spark the Journey was awarded a $2 million grant by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving fund in 2024. With a committed cadre of supporters, a talented team of professionals, and tremendous enthusiasm for our mission, Spark the Journey has the momentum to engage hundreds more youth and mentors in the journey to college and career success.
Good Insight, an award-winning search firm, will partner with us to recruit Spark the Journey’s next CEO. We will soon share the full position announcement and encourage you to circulate it among professionals with the passion and vision to lead Spark the Journey into our next chapter. Early interest may be sent to SparkTheJourney@good-insight.org. All inquiries will be kept confidential.
Please join me in thanking Khari for his decades of leadership. As we move into our promising future, we have more work to do together to ensure that our students are empowered to fulfill their full potential.
Sincerely,
Mary K. Bush
Chair, Board of Directors
Spark the Journey
About Spark the Journey: Spark the Journey is a non-profit organization that provides mentorship and a community of support for young adults to chart their own paths to achieving college and career success. We envision a future where every young person can attain economic mobility, regardless of education, background, or race. If you are interested in supporting our work, learn more about how to get involved.