Leadership

As a dedicated community advocate for youth, Jerry Calvert has worked to connect families and communities throughout Miami-Dade County. Mr. Calvert has been successful in leading nonprofits that focus on early childhood development and the social-emotional learning. Mr. Calvert received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University followed by receiving his master’s degree in management and leadership from Western Governor University.  Jerry Calvert started his career with City Year Miami, where he held several positions and worked in the Liberty City, Little Haiti and Miami Gardens communities. During that time, he served and managed AmeriCorps members’ teams while they executed an academically rigorous intervention program in several high-need areas that addressed poor attendance, behavior and improving course performance in reading and math.

Jerry worked as the Senior Program Director for the early childhood AmeriCorps program, Florida Reading Corps, where he oversaw all aspects of programming and operations. Under his supervision, he led the expansion of the program from six to eighteen schools across Miami-Dade. Florida Reading Corps’ main contribution for this expansion was comprehensive data collection and reporting. In his tenure with Florida Reading Corps, he saw an 83% increase in kindergarten readiness. With the assistance of the University of Minnesota, Florida Reading Corps conducted a quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of the Florida Reading Corps within a selective demographic. The results of the evaluation lead Broward County Public Schools to join the following year as partners. 

Mr. Calvert served as the executive/city director for the Miami region of Up2Us Sports. Up2Us sports is a trauma-infused coaching program, where coaches are placed in youth sports programs and schools focusing on the betterment of youth participants through sports. Up2Us Sports trains coaches in trauma-informed coaching. This allows coaches to have the ability to identify trauma and treat program participants. During his time at Up2Us Sport, he expanded their participation sites by 25%. Also, Mr. Calvert and his team recruited coaches to fill each of their participating locations. Jerry is trained in trauma-informed coaching and has led countless trainings in the subject matter. Mr. Calvert was recognized by their national headquarters for strengthening relationships with corporations, local foundations, and pro sports team like the Miami Marlins and Miami Heat.

Jerry also served as the Special Project Manager for The Children’s Trust where he helped oversee and manage all organizational projects. Mr. Calvert received his project management training from the University of Miami. As the Special Project Manager, Jerry was responsible for managing the Children’s Trust project portfolio. The county-wide book club to social-emotional focus training for the county, also known as The Parent Club, as the Special Project Manager, Jerry also lead numerous IT/Data projects where he served as the agile/scrum manager. Jerry spearheaded the development of processes and procedures to strengthen The Children’s Trust’s impact throughout Miami-Dade County.  Mr. Calvert created the first Project Management Office for The Children’s Trust. He trained staff on project management practices and theories. Mr. Calvert continues to dedicate his time and professional career to the betterment of communities throughout Miami-Dade County.