Our Team

FOUNDER

Dr. Willie Dean has more than 35 years of nonprofit management experience through the YMCA. During his Y career, he provided senior leadership across the nation as a Program Director, Branch Executive Director, Vice President, Senior Vice President/COO, President/CEO, and National Field Executive. In addition, Dr. Dean has more than five years of executive experience as General Manager of a nonprofit radio station and as Executive Director of a grassroots nonprofit in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Dr. Dean was appointed Executive Director/District Director (and later Vice President-Urban Services) for the Monsanto YMCA, a branch of the YMCA of Greater St. Louis in Missouri. Under his leadership, the Monsanto YMCA was recognized by the YMCA of the USA as one of “Ten Model YMCAs Serving Urban Communities in the United States.”

Dr. Dean was named President/CEO of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan YMCA, becoming the first Black CEO in the organization’s 123-year history. He also was one of only a handful of Black CEOs of large, multi-branch YMCAs in the nation.

Dr. Dean was appointed National Field Executive for the Mid-America Field of the YMCA of the USA, making him one of the senior-most Black executives on the Y’s national staff. In this role, he supervised offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dallas, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, and provided consulting services to 700 YMCAs in 18 states.

Dr. Dean was appointed Chief Operating Officer (and later Senior Vice President/COO) of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio, where he managed operations of a $17-million urban YMCA; provided programs through nine branches, four program sites, and 19 child care sites; served 27,600 members and 10,800 program participants through 719,800 annual visits; supervised 500 full- and part-time employees; and developed the organization’s strategic plan.

Dr. Dean was named President/CEO of the YMCA of Arlington, Arlington, Texas, where he developed the organization’s strategic plan; managed a $7.7-million budget; supervised 365 employees; operated three branches, 20 program sites, and 21 childcare sites that served 17,500 children; served 56,300 members and 36,000 program participants, including 11,200 kids in sports.

Dr. Dean retired in 2012 from an illustrious 35-year career with the YMCA, having provided leadership to Ys that served hundreds of thousands of members and participants around the United States.

Dr. Dean was appointed Executive Director of KFAI Radio, a Minneapolis, Minnesota, nonprofit community radio station that served 18,000 listeners through 89 on-air programs in 13 languages. Later, He was named Executive Director of YouthCARE, a Minneapolis, Minnesota, non­profit youth development agency that annually served 600 urban youth.

Dr. Dean earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Memphis, an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from the University of Minnesota. He is a YMCA Senior Director, a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Course, and holds a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Dr. Dean’s dissertation, “Barriers to Upward Mobility in Leisure Services: A Case Study of the YMCA,” was a clarion call to the YMCA that shone a light upon racism within one of the nation’s most venerable organizations. Dr. Dean is also the author of Overcoming: How Faith, Family and Friends Helped One Black Man Beat the Odds, a memoir that highlights his struggles to overcome racism, bullies, health challenges, and many other trials and tribulations during his lifetime.

Dr. Dean is a member of the Epsilon Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and St. Andrew AME Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He is married to Dr. Carol Johnson Dean, a Principal at Dean Johnson Consulting. Together they have six adult children. His interests include playing acoustic guitar, taking digital photography, reading, writing, driving fast cars, and spending time with his family.

FOUNDER

Dr. Carol Johnson Dean is among the nation’s most respected educational leaders. With more than 40 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and superintendent, Dr. Johnson Dean has led some of America’s largest school districts. She served as superintendent of the 60,000-student Boston Public Schools, the 120,000-student Memphis City Schools, the 50,000-student Minneapolis Public Schools, and the 5,000-student St. Louis Park Public Schools (Minnesota).

Dr. Johnson Dean also served as Interim President of LeMoyne-Owen College, the only HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in Memphis, Tennessee. Under her stewardship, during her 18-month tenure, the college received a $40-million endowment, the largest in the organization’s 158-year history. In addition, she provided exemplary leadership to the college during the uncertainties of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Dr. Johnson Dean has provided educational consulting services to numerous local and national school districts. She served as the Executive Director of New Leaders, South Region, a national organization, where she provided leadership development for aspiring principals and teachers across several southern states.

Dr. Johnson Dean is a 2014 Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow, a Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, and an Ambassador for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).

Dr. Johnson Dean received the nation’s highest honor for urban education leadership, ”The Richard R. Green Award,” presented by the Council of the Great City Schools. Under her leadership, the Boston Public Schools was recognized as one of “The Most Improved School Districts in the World” by McKinsey and Company. A strong advocate for Arts Education, she received the American Association of School Administrators/VHI “Save the Music Award.” Dr. Johnson Dean was also named “Minnesota Superintendent of the Year” and “Tennessee PTA Superintendent of the Year.”

Dr. Johnson Dean has served on the Harvard University Urban Superintendent’s Advisory Board, the University of Michigan School of Education Dean’s Advisory Board, the College Board, and the Spencer Foundation Board (Chicago).

Dr. Johnson Dean earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a doctoral degree in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Johnson Dean currently serves on the national boards of Facing History and Ourselves and City Year. Locally she serves on the Assisi Foundation, Overton Park Conservancy, First 8 Advisory, Memphis New Leaders, and the Memphis Teacher Residency boards. As a member of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra Board, she has served as past co-chair of the education committee and is a member of the Memphis Symphony Circle of Friends.

Dr. Johnson Dean is a member of the University of Memphis College of Education Advisory Board, the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development and Alumni Association boards, and the Tennessee HBCU Success Advisory Board. Dr. Johnson Dean also serves on the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, an organization that ensures the ethical practices of lawyers across the state of Tennessee.

Dr. Johnson Dean is a member of the Memphis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and attends St. Andrew AME Church in Memphis, Tennessee. She is married to Dr. Willie Dean, a Principal at Dean Johnson Consulting. Together, they have six adult children. She enjoys volunteering on nonprofit boards and committees, music, the arts, and spending time with her family.