Ashanti Branch

Ashanti Branch is a trailblazer in education reform and youth

mental health, known for creating safer, more connected schools

through workshops and social-emotional learning tools. In 2004,

he founded the Ever Forward Club (EFC) to tackle high dropout

rates among marginalized students. After more than a decade as

a math teacher, he left the classroom in 2016 to pursue the

mission of the EFC and the #MillionMaskMovement full-time.

EFC combines youth mentorship with teacher development

and has achieved powerful outcomes: 100% of student members

graduate high school, 90% pursue higher education, and 0%

have been incarcerated. The free #MillionMaskMovement (an

Anthem Award winner) features over 85,000 emotional “masks”

submitted by youth globally.

Ashanti’s work has been featured at SXSW, on CNN’s This is

Life with Lisa Ling, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and in the

documentary The Mask You Live In. A 4x TEDx speaker,

Fulbright Fellow, and 2023 recipient of the U.S. Surgeon

General’s Medallion, Ashanti is a sought-after keynote and

consultant on the youth mental health crisis.