Our Founder and CEO

Our Mission

Elevating our students through sports

We harness the power of sports to catalyze resilience, personal growth, and academic achievement—and empower our students to develop life skills, recognize their potential, and realize their dreams.

Our Board

BOB
MAZUR

Robert is retired, a former counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in complex litigation focusing on government, stock and commodities exchange investigations and securities litigation. Prior to that, he served as Assistant U.S. Attorney (SDNY). He has been with the Harlem Jets as a coach, confidante and advisor since 2008.

TYSON PRATCHER

Tyson has more than 18 years in alternative investments. He is now Senior Managing Director at Artemis, leading strategic initiatives and investments. He previously spent 10 years in leadership roles at the New York State Common Retirement Fund, including five years as Director of Opportunistic Investments. He is one of five co-founders of the Harlem Jets.

Steven Umlauf

Steve is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Risk Officer at State Street. Prior to that, he served as Chief Risk Officer for Finance of Citigroup and led the Investment Analytics function for AIG. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from MIT and was an Assistant Professor of Finance at London Business School. He is the co-founder of the Harlem Jets Wrestling Program.

Jamel Wright

Born and raised in Harlem, Jamel is the co-founder and CEO of the Harlem Jets. Working with children since 2005, he has always used sports as the method to foster belonging and teach discipline and pride. Under his strong leadership, the Jets have elevated thousands of youth from Harlem and the South Bronx, providing access to opportunities and experiences that might have otherwise been out of reach.

Our Team

We Jets know that the lessons of sports — discipline, resilience, teamwork — are powerful tools for life. And because we also know that all kids need extra guidance growing up, we give our kids mentors who look like them, coaches who believe in them, and programs that help them thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. That is why, every year, more than 300 children ages 5 to 14 spend more than 200 hours with us—learning, growing, and imagining a brighter future.

These are our Program Directors:

Jamel Wright

Chief Executive

Eric Palmer

Wrestling Director

Cassandra Sermons

Cheer Director

Michael Malcolm

Flag Co-Director

Shawanda Dodson

Flag Co-Director

Estrella Sappe

Community Liaison

B.J. Parker, Jr.

Tackle Director

Dayjawn Wiggins

Tackle Co-Director

Alexis Boyd

Community Outreach

Our Values

Inclusion

We create an environment where our kids feel welcome, heard and seen. We commit to individual and organizational efforts to build diversity and inclusion, grounded in respect, dignity and self-esteem.

COLLABORATION

We offer a safe, open, and supportive space for participants to have fun, make new friends, share their experiences, and learn from one another to help advance their chances for success.

Community building

We bring together middle school and high school students, educators, sports and cross-sector professionals on and off the field to enrich and expand our students’ learning, career opportunities and personal growth.

Our Partners

By the Numbers

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The number of years since our founding
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The number of programs we offer + wellness workshops and tutoring
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The number of K-8 students we serve annually

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