Jamari Selders has been saturated in service to others, particularly those in underserved areas, for most of his life. He was reared in a family committed to organizing and promoting wellness, and considers his father and grandfather, two doctors committed to improving public health, primary examples in the fight for justice and equity in underserved communities. By watching these two men establish and manage two health clinics in areas no clinics existed, he realized early on he too carried the desire to continue the legacy of “impacting the community, from within the community.” As a child growing up in Southside Chicago, and later South Dallas, he gained a front row seat to the disparities facing certain demographics, and the lack of resources accessible to youth in certain communities.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Morehouse College, Jamari took a position in a hospital research lab with intentions to go to medical school the following year. However, after traveling to Arusha, Tanzania, to assist a Maasai village with building school rooms and other systems for greater access to education for its children and daily living needs for its village members, Jamari knew he wanted to pivot from medicine to youth leadership training and DEI. He committed hours of research and service to organizations and programs that advocated for young students of color, as well as spent time mentoring youth, serving as a little league baseball coach, and helping high school students through the college application and admission process.
In 2019, he joined The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) as a Programs Coordinator, and in less than three years, he moved up the ranks to Director of Core Programs. During his tenure at JRF, Jamari creatively used his skills in mentoring, building relationships, and bridging gaps to help design programming and opportunities for molding future world leaders. In addition, he cultivated relationships with some of the world’s leading corporations and business leaders to create opportunities for some of the world’s brightest college students.
Jamari is currently Program Lead at PlayStation, where he has helped to create a well-oiled pipeline for underrepresented talent to enter the gaming and technology industry. Jamari is working on an MBA from the W. Paul Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University, which he hopes to use to continue providing and creating opportunities that perpetuate legacies of wealth in families and communities of youth of color.
