Divine Bradley

Divine Bradley (born October 9, 1982) is a social imagineer, business coach, youth mentor, His father was Alger Bradley, a footballer and sports commentator on 7 News Belize of Belmopan, Belize. He died in 2004 at 46. His mother, Debra Pratt-Miller, is an educator for the NYC Public School System. Before he was a year old, Bradley and his mother moved to the United States and settled in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. They later moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. Throughout his teen years he attended Boys and Girls High School in his neighborhood, where he was mentored by his principal, Frank Mickens. He later attended Repertory Company High School for several months before leaving to obtain his GED in order to start his own non-profit.

Career Team Revolution

At the age of 17, Modeled after Art Start, a program for at-risk youth in New York City, it serves people from 13 to 23 years of age.

By 2002, the number of members outgrew the home and they needed a larger meeting place and raised over $25,000 in two weeks for his nonprofit, Team Revolution, by selling candy.

By 2008, it served 500 participants and remains a student-led organization.

Bradley said in a New York Times profile, "You are taught to depend on the councilman, and you are taught to depend on the senator. You pay them with your tax dollars to do things for your community. But sometimes you have to create your own government... The best way to predict the future is to create it." through the Americorps Public Allies program, for the Pressure Point Films project. Chris Rolle, a musician and mentor who gained direction from New York City's Art Start program, was also a subject of the film. He founded in 1999, with Art Start's support, and according to Cassandra Lizaire, "has been encouraging impressionable young minds towards meaningful and positive musical messages ever since." It was filmed between 2001 and 2005, and was shown at the Brooklyn Museum of Art during "VH1 Hip Hop Honors Week" in 2006. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Campaigns

Bradley was designated as a Polo Ralph Lauren "Role Model" for its G.I.V.E Campaign. for which he is known. The G.I.V.E. campaign messages have been promoted through commercials, apparel, in-store promotions, online, magazine covers, billboards, packaging and posters. He designed the Trademarked Graffiti G.I.V.E Tee, which were sold worldwide and all of the profits were donated to the purchaser's charity of choice. Bradley's Team Revolution and POLO Ralph Lauren created a Limited Edition Member's Jacket and other products and all of the earnings went to Team Revolution, for its upkeep and continued development. Bradley was also hired as a creative consultant by RODALE Publishing and the Ralph Lauren Cancer Center to arrange a team of youngsters who would create the content of the Better Health Book-a-Zine Project.

Bradley was a campaign spokesperson for Pepsi's "Refresh Everything" project and was hired by Pepsi as Training Consultant & Outreach Coordinator for a six city tour throughout Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. He has also partnered with Doritos. His image and story were printed on the back of the snack food bags.

The Future Project Fortune Magazine reported in 2015 that Divine was hired by The Future Project, and worked as Dream Director at Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey. The Future Project partnered with the school's principal, Gemar Mills, to address what is identified as one of the "country's most troubled high schools". It was dubbed "Baghdad", was being considered for closure, and had four principals in as many years. Newark school's had been part of an unsuccessful $100 million effort to improve the schools.

Venture capitalist Ted Dintersmith and Tony Wagner wrote the book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era. In it, they look at how the Shabazz High School students are being prepared through innovative methods to be successful. Divine reaches out to students on an individual basis and asks, "What's something big and bold you'd like to do with your life to make your world better? I'm here to help you."

He helped the girls' basketball team develop a plan to engage Shaquille O'Neal, born in Newark, to become engaged with the school and sponsor the trip for the team to a national tournament in California. This event was transformational for the school, and helped students see a correlation between their activities and possibilities for success. That year he was the recipient of the Golden Brick Award, in the Community Building category for his development of Team Revolution. In 2007, Bradley was the grand prize winner of the Do Something Award for establishing his youth-led organization. He was named a Community hero by The My Hero Project.