Jamyle Cannon

In this episode, Bessie sits down with Jamyle Cannon, Executive Director and Founder of The Bloc, to discuss walking in your values with conviction, the philanthropic landscape from a POC perspective, and what nonprofit heartbreak looks like for them.Jamyle is the 2009 National Collegiate Boxing Champion and a Teach for America Alumni member. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from the University of Kentucky and a Masters in Education from Arizona State University. In 2016, after building a popular boxing program in his classroom, Cannon combined his love for youth development, boxing, and education to form The Bloc. He has been recognized as a CNN Hero, a 4-Star Chicagoan by Windy City Live, an Economic Game Changer by the New Covenant Community Development Corporation, profiled as one of the Hardest Working Voices in Sports by Chicago Sun-Times, awarded the Rich O’Leary Community Sports Award at Notre Dame University, and is generally considered by the fighters in The Bloc to be the baddest man alive. He has sincere plans to change the after-school landscape of Chicago’s West Side and provide community-building resources to his neighbors.Please note guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bessie or Alternatives.