Robert & Pamela Champion
Co-Founders
Robert and Pamela Champion had finally gotten all three of their children at or near adulthood. Their only son, Robert Darnell Champion was pursuing his dream to become a music director at his alma mater Southwest DeKalb High School. He wanted nothing more than to share the beauty and tranquility he found in music with others. He had earned a leadership position as a Drum Major in the Florida A & M University marching band; known as the Marching 100. In an instant everything changed. Robert was brutally and violently beaten to death by his fellow band members in a ritual that was widely condoned, accepted and encouraged. A ruthless culture so deeply rooted for decades, that no one chose to see the wrong.
Very few of us have been challenged in the way that Pam and Robert Champion have. But in the face of such an unspeakable tragedy they have demonstrated an incredible amount of inner strength, perseverance, and honor. In the aftermath of the unimaginable, they have become role models of faith and strength as they trust in God and in a higher purpose for human pain. They harnessed their energy to declare to the world: Never again! No one should have to ever endure what we have endured. This has got to STOP!
In the loving memory of their son, Robert Darnell Champion, Pamela and Robert Champion have created the Be A Champion Foundation. The foundation was formed to end the senseless violence that ails communities, fragments families, and limits our nation’s potential.
“In a nation where we are inundated with violence in every facet of our lives, we have decided to honor our son’s memory by providing proactive solutions to save lives and change mindset. This can be done. We are not dealing with an incurable disease, we are dealing with a mindset, which can be changed. Robert marched to a different beat and that beat lives on through the Be A Champion Foundation."
Chad e. Franklin
Co-ceo
Chad E. Franklin is Co-CEO of Be A Champion Foundation and brings with him a relentless focus on effective program development and a heart for eradicating issues that cripple communities. Franklin’s reputation for developing integrated solutions has many consider him a most revered problem solver in the nonprofit community. He is a graduate of Stanford Graduate School of Education, and has over 23 years of experience developing curricula and building programs and capacity for organizations such as the NYC Department of Education, Monroe County Corrections, The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Franklin has overseen 3 educational companies, and holds extensive non-profit experience in leadership positions with organizations such as the Youth Development Institute (YDI), and Hospital Audiences Inc. (HAI).
Fenorris Pearson
Co-ceo
Fenorris Pearson is a Transformational Human Capital Expert and a former senior executive for two fortune 100 companies at Dell and Motorola. Fenorris Pearson served as Vice President of Global Organizational Development at Motorola where he was responsible for Performance Management, Employee Satisfaction, Merger and Acquisitions, Leadership Development, Organizational Strategy & Development, Talent Development and Talent Acquisition Strategy for over 100,000 employees servicing EMEA, North America, Asia and Latin America. Fenorris Pearson was also responsible for building organizational capability through worldwide training modules and clear metrics to creating shareholder value.
While at Dell, Fenorris Pearson served as Vice-President of Brand Innovation where he and his team was charged with delivering disruptive consumer driven ideas and creating Dells Global Ideation process that would help determine the next wave of disruptive products for the consumer division at Dell.
Fenorris Pearson is also an Amazon Best Selling author where he wrote the Amazon Best Selling Book, “How To Play The Game At The Top” and he is also recognized as a sought after national speaker on Innovation and Organizational Capability. Fenorris Pearson has moved his focus at this point in his career to more philanthropic work that involves making a difference in other people lives. Fenorris holds an MS in Organizational Development from on the premier Organizational Development Programs in the country Benedictine University located outside of Chicago, IL and has over 23 years of executive experience.
Tyra Harris
Operations Manager
Tyra Harris serves as the Manger of Operations of the Be A Champion Foundation, with a dedicated focus on overall organization and technical implementation of the organizations inner workings.
Tyra has served as the Operations manager for the 100 Black Men of America Virginia Peninsula Chapter, as well as Nazareth Neely LLC. As the Operations Manager, Tyra was responsible for accurate communication between his employees and directors, guided direction, and innovation implementation on a fundamental level.
Tyra was also the IT Head for organizations such as the Hampton Roads Small Business Association, US Navigational Counseling Centers, and Hunter Cleaning Co. Tyra also has a supporting IT background working as Geek Squad agent.
