Our Vision

Serving the Community

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 Bowl-winning 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.  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 (7yrs old) and Jessica (1yr old).