Bridge Builders to the New Generation, Inc.
Change The Narrative
Meet the Team
Shamawn Wright
CEO & Founder
Shamawn Wright sought to use his experience as a youth growing up in East Oakland, California surrounded by drugs, gun violence, and poverty, to engage students with school and their community through an approach grounded in Blackness and culture first. As a Black male, former foster youth that got kicked out of school districts due to educational experiences that were not affirming to his identity and lived experiences; as a formerly incarcerated youth at the Contra Costa County Juvenile “Justice” center; as an youth that navigated these experiences.
Shamawn turned it around, he graduated from Antioch High School in 2011 and received a full ride football scholarship to the University of California, Davis. He majored in Sociology Organizational Studies and received his B.S. in 2015 as well as a Masters of Art from the University of San Francisco in Higher Education and Student Affairs in 2021. He then will start his doctorate program this upcoming fall at San Francisco State University in Educational Leadership.
In July 2019, Shamawn founded Bridge Builders to the New Generation, Inc. to bridge students from underserved communities in Antioch, California to higher education through access to college, leadership, and life skills. Through enriching programs, Bridge Builders seeks to keep students engaged in school and build a support network of family, validation, and support for a younger generation of Black youth from similar backgrounds. By assisting youth to become self-sufficient adults, Bridge Builders seeks to help students to create a plan post-high school either in higher education, vocational school, or a career path.
Brandon Rice
Board Member
Brandon Rice is a marketing specialist and small business owner located in the Bay Area. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing from Sacramento State University. Brandon believes in the Bridge Builder’s vision of eliminating barriers to success, and is excited to help make that vision a reality.
Shannel Williamson
Secretary
Shannel is originally from Southern California and came up North to attend University of California, Davis. After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Systems Engineering, she began working for PepsiCo-Frito Lay. She is now an Associate Manufacturing Manager for the Processing Department.
While at UC Davis, Shannel worked for the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) serving middle and high school students from under-represented communities. Her time at EAOP is where she developed her passion for helping students from all backgrounds become academically competitive. She was also the president of the Black Engineers Association on campus, which is also known as the UC Davis chapter for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and loved to focus on keeping student outreach programs geared toward STEM active and catering to minorities in the community.
Although, high school came naturally for her, college was a different story! She experienced her own obstacles with the foundations of academic success such as balancing her personal life and academics, learning how to study, asking for help when needed, and affording school. Being apart of Bridge Builders to the New Generation allows Shannel to be instrumental in showing our youth that they too can succeed (without as many obstacles). She believes in the Bridge Builders’ mission so that kids like her can excel beyond what society tells them they can!
James Smith
Treasurer
James is a Real Estate sales professional and has worked as a Realtor for the past 4 years. Beginning his career in Sacramento, James specializes in selling homes that others have failed to sell as well as helping first time home buyers navigate through the process of buying a home and ultimately achieve their goals of home ownership. Upon graduating from Antioch High School in 2010, James went to work in the labor field working for a construction company. During a layoff in 2014 James began studying Real Estate Law and learning from investors. In 2015 he successfully completed his first Real Estate investment deal which propelled him into a career in Real Estate. This year James is on track to close over 10 million in sales volume.
Coming from Antioch and a single parent household, the Bridge Builders vision hits home for James. After moving back home to Antioch from Sacramento in 2018 James was looking for a way to give back to his community and help break the cycle that a lot of inner-city youth fall into. He felt like Bridge Builders to the New Generation had a mission he could fully stand behind and made the decision to get involved. James is grateful for the opportunity to be involved with Bridge Builders and is excited for what the future has in store.
Kevin Booze
Board member
Kevin Boozé is a graduate from Sacramento State with a Major in Construction Management and Minor in Business administration and currently is working in the Sacramento Area on the Sac State Dorm Project as a Project Engineer. Kevin’s goal in life is to work his way up in the construction industry while simultaneously investing into the real estate market. He is also member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
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Artice
Board member
Artice Nelson was born in Sacramento, California. He attended the University of California, Davis (2011 -2016) and majored in managerial economics. Currently, he is working for Space X. During his free time he really enjoy learning new things and hanging with Family and Friends. Advice to the youth: Always continue to obtain more knowledge; it is the key to growth and change
Brad
Board member
I started my career as investment banker at Merrill Lynch in 1997. I transitioned to equity research covering internet stocks at both Merrill Lynch and Thomas Weisel Partners and then moved to cover the software industry at Pequot / Andor Capital and SAC. Following my time as a software analyst, I moved to trading options and have been with the same team since 2008.
I met the founder Shamawn at a mutual friends’ wedding. I was initially drawn to his passion for helping at-risk youth and wanted to get involved to help the organization grow.With my background in finance, I have skillset that allows me to look at the organization from a high level and help establish processes to help Bridge Builders grow.
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I have worked closely with Shamawn over the last two years on fundraising. We have jointly met with foundations and philanthropic organizations. I expect to continue to work with Bridge Builders on creating new financial partnerships with organizations that can provide capital to help us grow.
Passion
Fund raising / High level planning.
I believe the biggest challenges for BB is replicating the success we’ve had in the Antioch area. Finding the right people / managers to help us expand and grow while maintaining the same level of quality. I plan to be more engaged with the fund-raising aspects of BBs with other board members Plan to attend all board meetings / off sits and as many functions as possible.
Damon Wiley
Board member
Damon Wiley is a 1st generation Bay Area native that is currently an MBA candidate studying at Berkeley Haas school of business. He is a double bear and actually attended UC Berkeley undergrad where he majored in English.
He most recently came from LinkedIn, where he worked for their sales division and partnered closely with the social impact team to create pipeline programs for Bay Area students.
Additionally, Damon is a 2-Time Founder of companies that specialize in Emotional Intelligence, Career Development, and bridging the gaps that have disenfranchised our marginalized communities.
