Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Berry.
Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well…I am a native of Dallas, Texas, and the son of Michael Berry (retired DISD staff member) and Annetta Berry (VP in Lending Services). That background is important as I am the product of two phenomenal parents who poured into me very early to lead with humility and connect with empathy. My mission is to build bridges for youth and families to eradicate the opportunity gap that exists in our communities and is only widening. Throughout my 15+ year career, there has been one constant: Community. I believe in the collective power that we all possess and together those abilities can be multiplied for good. In a sense, I want to be force multiplier for good.
My current organization Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to succeed in school and life. We currently work with school districts such as the Dallas Independent School District to support our youth in increasing their social-emotional well-being, improve school engagement and academic attainment, and increase the utilization of safe and healthy behaviors. This is all done by creating safe and brave spaces for our youth to be authentically felt, seen, and heard.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I wouldn’t say my professional journey has been a smooth road at all. It’s interesting as life is paved with challenges and learning opportunities and I took it as just that–an opportunity to learn. I have been laid off multiple times throughout my journey however my passion has never dimmed – I feel purposeful in the work that I lead. It’s mission work for me. Our program is still relatively new to Dallas as we are in the midst of our 2nd year of programming however the community-at-large has welcomed us and we couldn’t be more grateful. It still takes a Village and we are grateful to be a part of the grander Dallas community village.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I mentioned earlier how I am a native of Dallas and would offer the opportunity to lead such a dynamic program in some of the same schools that I attended growing up is truly a humbling opportunity and it feels like a full-circle moment for me. Leading a program that is keeping the focus on the holistic view of the child while working to demystify stigmas around mental health is such an enriching and rewarding experience. I typically offer that I became involved with Youth Guidance as I wanted to become a better husband, better father (proud dad to a 3 yr. old daughter and 8-year-old son), better son, better man and just an overall better human being. This work has challenged me to consistently take a ruthless self-examination as to the man that I currently am and how I want to show up and take up space in the world.
I specialize in building community as it was a focus for me growing up as I had my village and I have taken that same approach with me to this work and within the non-profit space.
I am most proud of persevering and staying consistent throughout my professional career. I like many of our readers have been through some trials and tribulations -some storms – however I keep my faith at the center and keep my village close and their support has been the engine I needed to get through seasons. And I say consistency as another thing that I am proud of as I have remained the same optimistic and life-loving person through it all. I am just grateful and another minute or another day alive means we have an opportunity to create change.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a curious young boy who was very friendly and very talkative. It’s literally in my DNA I feel. Before the TEDxTalks became popular I am quite sure my family held the record for family TEDXTalks to be held. I was inquisitive about the world as I recall on the way to school, we would listen to NPR or Suze Orman giving financial lectures. This curiosity and knowledge about global affairs opened up a world to me. I recall falling in love with art and was selected to take a class at the Dallas Museum of Art to enhance my drawing and learning about Monet/Manet very early on. I was lucky to have such a wonderful and enriching educational experience beginning at Adelle Turner Elementary who had teachers who cared so deeply for their students. To this day I attribute a lot of my success and just overall lens to these dynamic teachers. I like many other of our Adelle Turner Tigers Alum are just so grateful for the opportunity to learn from such a host of premier faculty. I fell in love with sports early on playing basketball, soccer, baseball, and running track. Sports truly worked my self-discipline muscle and am grateful to have such wonderful coaches to have learned under. I would lastly offer I took part in Odyssey of the Mind also while at Adelle Turner which just expanded my critical thinking skills and had us all thinking outside of the box. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined long-term problem and present their solution to the problem at a competition. I was fortunate to sit on the campus team for a few years and this experience truly enhanced my problem-solving ability. I credit this and other experiences growing up to the person, professional, and leader that I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youth-guidance.org/youth-guidance-dallas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.berry.7161
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-berry1911
- Twitter: twitter.com/yg_dallas?s=11&t=BNct0bd1jY4VSXOXnOwiqg
