You’d be surprised who you’ll meet in unexpected places (like Starbucks). For Kirby, that’s where he found most of his original Board members! Kirby Jones was tired of seeing the “same old movie” in urban communities. He saw bright 5-6 year old children in Southeast Raleigh with massive potential, but minimal access to STEM education, find their way into gangs, drugs, violence and jail. Seeing the school-to-prison pipeline spurred Kirby to start The Daniel Center back in 2010. You could say, by the grace of God, this clergyman was in the right place at the right time—because he met people who were passionate about his mission to narrow the education gap – many of them in Starbucks. Eleven years later, Kirby’s dream has grown for the Triangle at large. “On Western, you will find two of our state’s most impressive and recognizable institutions – NC State University, and NC Central Prison. The positioning of these institutions is remarkable in that one sits within a stone’s throw of the other, yet they could not speak of two more different life-outcomes. The tragedy for the children we serve in S.E. Raleigh is that statistically, they are much more likely to end up at North Carolina Central Prison, than at North Carolina State University. Our goal is to change the trajectory for as many children as possible; and break the cycle of generational poverty through education – most particularly through STEM-based academics,”  said Kirby.