Gary Clemons

Gary Clemons started at Friends of the Children – Portland in 2008 as a Friend to eight boys. In 2014 Gary became Chief Program Officer of the National entity, aiding the network in growing from 8 to 15 locations by helping to raise seed capital and bringing the program model to new cities. In 2018 Gary became Executive Director of Friends New York. In an effort to address the stability gap caused by disparate systems he’s leading Friends New York in a $17 million campaign to double the number of youth served in NYC and advance the 2Gen model, which extends services to parents. Gary’s passion for helping marginalized youth and families derives from his own story. Having grown up in underserved communities, he was impacted by systems in young adulthood. This led him to dedicate his life to social justice, which he has been doing for 25+ years.