Darrell Edmonds
Darrell Edmonds began his professional career with S.O.D.A.T. (Services to Overcome Drug
Abuse Among Teens) of New Jersey, Inc. shortly after graduating from The University of
Delaware with a BA in History . At S.O.D.A.T., Darrell was the Program Manager of the TLC Teen
Center where he developed programming for teens including anger management, goal setting,
and documentary film making.
In 2003 he returned to the Atlantic City area to work for AtlantiCare Behavioral Health with the
Atlantic City Family Centers. At the family centers he quickly rose to the position of lead case
manager and later, program coordinator for the 21st Century Community Learning Center
Program.
In 2006 he received his Masters of Science in Non-Profit Management from Eastern University.
In the same year, Darrell was promoted to the position of Director of the Oakcrest Teen Center.
In 2009 he was recognized by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce as one of the Top
40 young professionals under the age of 40 (Top 40 under 40). In 2011 he was named Man of
the Year by Phi Delta Kappa Sorority. In the same year, he was named Omega Man of the Year
by the Upsilon Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In 2013 Darrell was part of the
planning committee for the first ever New Jersey Celebration of Fatherhood event, as well as a
partner with President Obama’s Fatherhood Buzz initiative.
In 2013 Darrell founded the non profit organization Friday Is Tie Day, Inc., so called because it
encourages young men to wear ties to school on Fridays. The mission of the organization is to
build men through male youth mentoring and responsible fatherhood. Friday Is Tie Day is
responsible for starting the area’s first chapter of the All Pro Dad dad’s day breakfast, a national
program endorsed by Tony Dungy, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowlwinning
Indianapolis Colts, and also well-known author. Over the first year the group grew from
eight teens at one high school to over 50 teens at five high schools. They meet monthly for
lessons on goal setting, college awareness and leadership development. The group has made
college visits to West Chester University, Temple University, Rutgers University, and the
University of Delaware. The teens have participated in projects for Hope For Liberia and a suit
drive for their 2014 MLK Day Community Service Project.
In June 2014, Darrell was awarded the prestigious Starting Bloc Fellowship for social innovation.
Starting Bloc brings together entrepreneurs, activists, educators, and innovators working to
create change. In August of 2014, Darrell was selected to attend the International Young
Leaders Assembly at the UN with change makers from around the globe.
Most recently Darrell’s professional career has transitioned to philanthropy and working with
foundations. In 2104 he worked with the Pascale Sykes Foundation and the program
coordinator of the South Jersey Strengthening Families Initiative. The 60 million dollar initiative
focused on developing a four county regional in south jersey through collaborative social
service efforts, increased access to public transportation, and economic development. In 2017
he moved on to work for the Give Something Back Foundation as the Regional Director of
Mentoring & Partnerships. “Give Back” is a national scholarship and mentoring program that
works with marginalized youth to prepare them for college starting in the 9th grade. All
students that meet the requirements of the program received full tuition, room & board
scholarships to college. Give Back covers 7 states and over 500 total scholars currently. In 2017
Darrell was also name to the board of the Forman Acton Educational Foundation. The Forman
Acton Educational Foundation provides college readiness, 529 college savings accounts, and
scholarships to students in the Salem City School district in Salem, NJ. This 35 million dollar
effort is designed to increase college access and completion to all students in that district.
Darrell is happily married to Janine Edmonds who is a guidance counselor at Oakcrest High
School. They are the proud parents of Olivia (13yrs old ), Keilani (8yrs old) and Jessica (1yr old).