Dr. Chuck is a Philadelphia native who has worked his way out of poverty, abuse and neglect to become an inspiration for many people through his work as an educator, counselor, communicator and leader. Through his commitment to positive social change he has been able to harness his creativity, passion and indomitable spirit to improve the lives of many children, families and communities throughout the city of Philadelphia. While living at St. Francis Homes for Boys, where he was sent as a youth, given the issues of addiction and abuse plaguing his family, he prayed to God that He would grant him the opportunity to "seek truth" and "change lives". It wasn't long after his discharge from St. Francis that he would monopolize on a prayer answered.
By the age of 21, he had appeared in Associated Press articles, and every major media outlet in the region, which included the Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Tribune; he had also been featured on Fox 29, NBC, CBS, ABC and WB 17 news and public affairs programs.
In 1995, as a young college student he had the opportunity to join the fight led by former Vice President Al Gore and then mayor, now Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, to force the GOP controlled US House of Representatives to replace sharp recisions in federal higher education funding it had planned to make. Working with US Senator Arlen Specter, they were victorious. Later he would go on to promote President Clinton's — President Summit for America's Future. He then went on to help promote President Clinton's America Reads Challenge, which works to ensure that all children can read well and independently by the third grade. In 1998, he created the Books not Guns campaign which offered children a healthy alternative to violence through the gift of literacy. To date the effort has collected thousands of books for community and school literacy projects for children and youth.
In 1999, while a graduate student he worked as an intern and then a consultant in the Office of the Health Commissioner. After graduating, he worked as a post-graduate intern in the Mayor's Office of Drug Control Policy. In 2000, he was asked to serve as coordinator and spokesperson for Operation Ceasefire in Philadelphia. In 2001, Dr. Chuck became a founder of the Bill Cosby "Academic Posse" program, a program which encourages city youth to earn a college degree.
In 2003, Dr. Chuck was the winner of an Outstanding Teaching Award, while working as a college instructor at one of Philadelphia's very competitive institutions of higher learning — Temple University.
Recently, Dr. Chuck served on the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Children's Behavioral Health, where he was elected chair of the subcommittee on Child Abuse and Neglect. He has served as moderator for the Exhoodus Tour's "Save the Children Summit," which features Dr. Bill Cosby.
Dr. Chuck has received numerous City Council Citations and two Mayoral Citations for helping others.
Dr. Chuck has earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Temple University. His research for his dissertation focused on the impact of social skills and media on learning and academic performance. He possesses a dual master's degree in counseling and organizational dynamics from MCP-Hahnemann University. At MCP, he studied the psychological impact of gender and ethnic diversity in groups; leadership styles and organizational systems. In fact, his interest in diversity and work performance, led him to create a special topics course on diversity and work place performance for Penn State University's School of Graduate Professional Studies at Great Valley.
Dr. Chuck is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Counseling Association (ACA).
Dr. Chuck is currently employed at Goodwin College - School of Education at Drexel University where he is an assistant clinical professor and the director of the Center for the Prevention of School-Aged Violence.
Dr. Chuck keeps a pretty busy community lecturing schedule, which calls upon him to speak on topics such as supporting special needs youth in the classroom, positive youth development, school climate issues, retention programs for underrepresented college students, and innovative youth-led violence prevention strategies. He is also routinely asked to speak with media outlets and professional organizations from around the country about these issues.
Dr. Chuck also routinely collaborates with various media outlets to host town hall meetings featuring pressing social and political issues. These dynamic collaborations bring together academic institutions as well as major media outlets working in the Internet, on the radio, in television, cable and print.
In fact, in early 2009, Dr. Chuck moderated, along with this his co-host Rick Grimaldi, the special CBS Radio - Big Talker 1210 AM series -- Moving Forward: Obama, Race & Politics, which was hosted by Drexel University. Podcast: thebigtalker1210.com/pages/3923594.php
View pics from that show here: thebigtalker1210.com/pages/4052240.php
As a part of the first installment of that town hall, Drexel University hosted a special panel on Youth & Violence in Philadelphia, which featured Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramesy, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison, renowned developmental psychologist and Drexel University professor, Dr. Myrna Shure, and J.C. Lore, associate clinical professor and co-director of the Rutgers Law Children's Justice Clinic.
A month after, Dr. Chuck, along with his co-host Rick Grimaldi, hosted the second installment of the series -- Moving Forward: Obama, Faith, Race and Politics, which was hosted by Eastern University. Podcasts:thebigtalker1210.com/Big-Talker-1210-Forum--Race---Politics/4140545
View pics from that show here: thebigtalker1210.com/pages/4250578.php
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Needless to say, Dr. Chuck leads a very busy, dynamic and fulfilling life, opting to publicly cultivate his multiple interests. His various noble pursuits have led him far away from the start of what was a pretty rough childhood, raised in foster care-- Family Court hearings, group homes and prolonged separations from his brothers and sister.
However, to put it simply, Dr. Chuck has been able to accomplish such extraordinary things given that he has held on to his faith and one sacred tenet — "the way you start does not have to be the way you finish."
His is a personal gospel, which he hopes will continue to inspire many young people (and the not so young) who often ask themselves --"Will I make it through?" He did.
