About Omega Boys Club
The Founders
Dr. Joseph E. Marshall
Dr. Joseph E. Marshall, Jr. is an author, lecturer, radio talk show host, and community activist. He is the founder of the Alive & Free Movement and the founder and president of the Street Soldiers National Consortium, an organization dedicated to eliminating violence worldwide. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers, a youth development and violence prevention organization headquartered in San Francisco, California that emphasizes academic achievement and nonviolence. Founded in 1987, the organization has transformed the lives of more than 10,000 young people and produced 163 college graduates, all supported by the Omega Scholarship Fund. Another 60 Omegas are currently enrolled in college, and 32 have gone on to earn graduate degrees. As Executive Director of the Omega Boys Club, he oversees the Omega Leadership Academy for academic and life skills education, the Omega Training Institute for replicating the Alive & Free Prescription violence prevention methodology, and Street Soldiers Radio and Violence Prevention Program, which brings the Alive & Free message to communities across the US and the world.
Dr. Marshall is a recognized social entrepreneur for his pioneering work redefining youth violence as a disease and developing the successful Alive & Free Prescription. He is an Ashoka Fellow, part of a network of leaders in more than 60 countries who are implementing system-changing solutions for the world's most urgent social problems. Dr. Marshall served as a planner and peer reviewer of the 2001 US Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence, and his method informed the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention in 2002. Dr. Marshall's innovation has earned him the MacArthur Genius Award, the Children's Defense Fund Leadership Award, the Essence Award, and the Use Your Life Award from Oprah Winfrey. Other awards include the 2007 African American Excellence in Business award, 2006 San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Award, and the 2006 Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service. He is the author of the 1996 best-selling book, Street Soldier: One Man's Struggle to Save a Generation, One Life at a Time and the subject of the Street Soldiers documentary narrated by Danny Glover which aired on PBS. Dr. Marshall holds honorary doctorates from Morehouse College and the University of San Francisco, a Ph.D. in Psychology from Berkeley's Wright Institute, and an M.A. in Education from San Francisco State University. He is a current member and past president of the San Francisco Police Commission and a trustee emeritus of the University of San Francisco.
AWARDS
- 2008 Local hero Award from Bank of America’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative
- 2006 Jefferson Award for Public Service
- 2006 Community Leadership Award from the San Francisco Foundation
- 2006 Angel Award from the Take Wings Foundation
- 2004 Ashoka Fellow-an international organization of social entrepreneurs committed to systemic social change
- The 2004 Living History Makers Award from Turning Point Magazine.
- The 2003 Human Rights Leadership Award from the Harvard University Alumni of San Francisco.
- The 2003 Alumni Educators Award from the University of San Francisco.
- 2002 Ten Most Influential African Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area from City Flight Magazine.
- The 2002 HistoryMakers Award.
- The 2001 Use Your Life Award from Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network.
- The 2001 Exemplary Community Leadership Award for Excellence in Radio Broadcasting from the California Broadcasters Association.
- The 2000 Service to Youth Award from the Links, Inc.
- The 1999 National Trust Award for the development of African American Men.
- The 1998 Candle in Community Service Award from Morehouse College.
- The 1997 Congressional Freedom Works Award for "outstanding work in making America's best dreams come true."
- The 1996 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association.
- The 1994 Leadership Award from the Children's Defense Fund.
- The 1994 Essence Award honoring outstanding contributions by African American Men from Essence Magazine.
- The 1994 Genius Award from the MacArthur Foundation.
- A 1990 White House salute for success in fighting drugs and crime in the community.
PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA
- Author of the 1996 national best seller, Street Soldier: One Man's Struggle to Save a Generation, One Life at a Time.
- Co-author "The Disease of Violence-A New Public Health Model: Prevention, Intervention and Rehabilitation." The California Psychologist, Volume 39 Number 4, July/August 2006
- Contributing writer, Brother to Brother: Black Men Speak to Young Black Men, Townsend Press, 2009.
- Host of the nationally syndicated violence prevention radio talk show Street Soldiers.
- Subject of the award winning 1997 public television documentary Street Soldiers.
- Subject of the 2004 Black Repertory stage play Street Soldiers, adapted from the book Street Soldier.
- Publisher of the Omega Boys Club quarterly magazine Street Soldiers.
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
- Commissioner—San Francisco Police Commission, City and County of San Francisco.
- Member Planning Board for the Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence.
- Trustee Emeritus—University of San Francisco.
- San Francisco State University Alumni Hall of Fame.
- Loyola High School-Los Angeles Alumni Hall of Fame.
EDUCATION
- B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of San Francisco
- M.A. in Education from San Francisco State University
- Ph D in Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Morehouse College
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of San Francisco
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