Allow Us To Introduce Ourselves...
Urban Hope Leadership Team
Jennifer Jones (Co-Director)
Jennifer first discovered her passion for empowering girls while working as an Urban Hope Summer Camp counselor in 2008. Since then, she has led several programs focused on the importance of sisterhood, self-confidence, and serving others. Through dance and fashion, Jennifer inspires young women to unapologetically be who they are and explore what God has called them to do. Believing that she can change the world one girl at a time, Jennifer plans to travel the globe amplifying the voices of young women. Ultimately, guided by love for and service to her community, she knows God is using her to do great things.
Azmen Johnson (Scholars Community Director)
Azmen Johnson grew up in Durham, NC. In 2007, she graduated from UNCC with a BA in Sociology and has been involved with Urban Hope ever since. She has served as a camp counselor, adult facilitator for Bible Jump Off, mentor, and year round volunteer. Azmen continues to invest in the next generation to equip and empower young people to overcome whatever obstacles they may face. Beyond her contributions to Urban Hope, Azmen works for Durham Public Schools as an instructional assistant and serves as case facilitator and leadership team member for Restorative Justice Durham.
Isaiah Simms, Jr. (Co-Director)
Isaiah, or Coach Ike as the kids call him, has been with Urban Hope for 13 years. He has done a little bit of everything in the summer camp from being a camper, a counselor-in-training, and a counselor, to most recently serving as the camp’s assistant director. Ike studied at Livingstone College where he also played football. In addition to leading Urban Hope, he is a supervisor at a landscaping company and an assistant football coach at Hillside High School. Through his passion for sports, Coach Ike is building up character and confidence in our young men and women and restoring their faith in God.
Dan Keegan (Scholars Program Director)
Dan Keegan is a native of Iowa who relocated to Durham after graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Elementary Education. Dan has been involved with Urban Hope since 2005. He has served in the capacity of summer camp counselor, assistant director and director of the summer camp, basketball coach, mentor, neighbor and now Alexander House Scholars Program Director. During the school year, Dan directs the WAY (Walltown Aspiring Youth), an after school program Urban Hope sponsors with the School For Conversion. Outside of his work with Urban Hope, Dan works as a teacher at Eastway Elementary School.
Ed and Page Cvelich
Ed and Page Cvelich serve on the Urban Hope Leadership Team. They have worked with The Navigators for thirty years and have led ministries on college campuses and among young professionals in the Southeast United States and the Philippines. As a result of their time abroad and the vision of Revelation 5:9, a desire to help the RDU Navigators embrace diversity has been at the forefront of their hearts and minds. Ed and Page began to assist Bahari Harris with the Urban Hope summer camp in 2004 and relocated to Walltown in August 2007. They are also members of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church just one block from their home. The Cveliches serve the Urban Hope team through strategic planning, fund-raising, staff development, sports coaching, and tutoring. Their hearts' desire and prayer is for God to raise up a new generation of African American leaders to be missionaries to Durham and the cities of this nation.
Founding Director
Bahari J. Harris
Bahari Harris is the founder of Urban Hope and served as the ministry's Executive Director for 10 years. After Urban Hope, Bahari enrolled at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Sanford School of Public Policy graduating in May 2016 with a dual Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Policy (international development concentration). Bahari currently works as an Assistant Vice President for Bank of America’s Consumer Banking division in Charlotte, NC. Having been on staff with the Navigators since August 2002, Bahari continues to work on initiatives that will expand and develop the organization's African-American ministries and missionaries. He and his wife, Mamie, remain faithful advocates of Walltown committed to supporting young people and their families.