WAY Bio

Biography

illiam Allen Young is celebrated actor who is recognized by millions of worldwide fans as Frank Mitchell, the tough-but-loving father on the hit TV series, Moesha, and Judge Ratner on CSI Miami. Mr. Young has starred in over 90 stage, television and film projects in his illustrious career, including the Academy Award-nominated film, A Soldier’s Story. He has lived and performed in Europe, Africa and Asia and is widely respected in the arts and entertainment community for his professional accomplishments and for his role in helping to diversify the ranks of writers, actors, directors, and producers in Hollywood.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Central, L.A, Mr. Young was inspired as a child by his mother, a high school drop out who worked as a maid to support her seven children. She eventually went back to school to earn her diploma and a nursing license then went on to build a successful 30-year career in the medical profession. “Education enabled my mother to get up off her knees and accomplish her life’s dream, says Young. “That’s powerful.”

As a student, Mr. Young excelled in academics and the performing arts. At age 15, he won a scholarship to study at the famed Inner City Acting Academy in Los Angeles and landed his first film role at age 16. He graduated from Locke High School and attend the University of Southern California on a Speech & Debate scholarship. While at USC, he was twice ranked the #1 College Speaker in the Nation when he led the Trojan Debate Squad to a National Championship. He holds a Masters degree in Sociolinguistics, a Bachelors degree in Rhetoric and Debate, and has lectured at colleges and universities throughout the nation.

William A. Young

Founder & President

“There comes a time when young people must learn how to stand up and accept their responsibility for helping to shape the world in which they live. That time is always now.”

- William A. Young

For over 20 years, Mr. Young has inspired the lives of thousands of youths from South Los Angeles to South Africa by working to improve student academic performance in public schools, sponsoring education enrichment programs for disabled and disadvantaged youth, providing food and shelter for homeless children and families, advocating for education equity in our nation, and creating greater access and opportunities for underserved youth to realize their dream of obtaining a college education.

As founder and president of the Young Center for Academic and Cultural Enrichment, he continues to work with a dedicated team to inspire and prepare a new generation of leaders. Under his leadership, the organization has provided award-winning educational programs and services to meet the educational needs of diverse youth from more than 250 schools.

As a professional motivation speaker, Mr. Young delivers his powerful message of hope and change throughout the nation, drawing from the extraordinary life experiences that have taken him from the streets of South Central, L.A. to success and national fame. As a national advocate for higher education, he uses his celebrity to focus media attention on education inequity in America and the challenges faced by disadvantaged youth in their efforts to obtain a college education.

His awards of recognition received over the years include: NAACP Social Achievement Award, Thomas Kilgore Jr. Service Award, Jenesse Silver Rose Award, California Hero in Education Award, OC Dept. of Education Humanitarian Service Award, Black Hollywood Education Resource Center President’s Icon Award, USC Outstanding Alumnus Award, and Man of the Year Award from the National Organization of Women at Work. He was recently inducted into the African-American Hall of Education and was deemed an Ambassador of Good Will by former President Bill Clinton.

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