Atrayus O. Goode

President & CEO, MENTOR NC

Seeing such a need to address the educational and social needs of underrepresented populations, Atrayus O. Goode founded Movement of Youth (MOY) in 2006 as a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This award-winning mentoring and youth development agency was based on a program that he completed in high school sponsored by the 100 Black Men of America. At its peak, MOY operated in several states and students achieved a 100% high school graduation rate and 96.5% college attendance rate.

Atrayus currently serves as the Inaugural President & CEO of MENTOR North Carolina, a statewide Affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. In this role, he leads a team that is working to increase the number of youth in quality mentoring relationships across North Carolina while working to address the systemic barriers that young people face on a daily basis. This includes cross-sector strategic engagement to elevate mentoring programs across the state, tracking external impact measurements, and providing the link between MENTOR’s national efforts including public awareness and advocacy through national campaigns such as In Real Life, Coaches’ Challenge, NBA Cares, and National Mentoring Month.

Atrayus has global experience, including consulting in South Africa with Vuleka Schools, leading several all-Black delegations to Cuba to examine historical and present-day Cuban realities, and traveling to Palestine to explore issues of detention and incarceration, the Israeli military court system, and Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace with justice.

Atrayus is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the UNC Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Young Alumni Award and the North Carolina Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, the state’s highest award for volunteer service. He has also been featured on various media platforms, including StoryCorps and TED.

An active member of the community, Atrayus is an Ambassador of the 100 Black Men of Triangle East, Co-Chair of My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper (MBK) Orange County, and a member of the National Public Policy Committee of the 100 Black Men of America. Atrayus holds a Master of Science in Organization Development from the American University School of Public Affairs in Washington, DC and B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He resides in Durham, North Carolina and is the proud father of Everette Rose, 9.