Darius Ballinger

Darius Ballinger is founding executive director of Chasing23 Youth Empowerment Group, a nonprofit organization improving the lives of Chicago youth through social enterprises. Chasing23 has served 35 youth, in cohorts of 10 to 15, with limited personal, academic, and professional support resources. By providing mentoring, tutoring, and workforce-development programming, Chasing23 supports young men of color in developing personal and professional skills and building wellness and confidence to achieve goals for long-term success. Ballinger serves on the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center advisory board, appointed by the Cook County commissioners, and is an advisory board member for Chicago Learning Exchange and NBC 5. He was endorsed by President Obama via Instagram for his work in communities and jails to get citizens civically involved through voter registration and received a star award from Get In Chicago for his work with acutely at-risk youth.