“I want to be a role model for young men and women who look like me and come from the communities that I come from.”

Summer Search is thrilled to welcome Darryl Huggins (He | His) as our new Executive Director for Summer Search Boston!

Darryl officially joined the Summer Search community on Monday, December 2, and we’re excited to have his leadership as he begins meeting with staff, students, alumni, and supporters throughout the network.

In his first week, we asked Darryl to introduce himself and answer our Three Questions (3Qs): Who are you? Where are you going? How can we help you get there?

[Explore more from Summer Search’s #3Qs series]

We invite you to watch Darryl’s welcome video and read more below.

Video Highlights:

• Q1) 0:00-2:18 ~ Who am I?
• Q2) 2:19-3:40 ~ What do I want to be? 
• Q3) 3:41-4:44 ~ How can you help me get there?

A Resilient Spirit and Hard Work

Darryl is the son of two hardworking, immigrant parents who came to the U.S. from the beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the early 80s. With just a couple of suitcases and a resilient spirit, they instilled in Darryl and his siblings the strong belief that hard work would be the key to getting what they wanted out of life.

Darryl aspires to be “a role model for young men and women who look like me and come from the communities that I come from.”

An Advocate and Fighter for Our Young People

Growing up in Boston, Darryl felt first-hand the impact of youth development programs. He has committed his professional career to being an advocate for youth mental health and a fighter for the rights of young people in Boston and beyond.

Darryl brings a decade of experience from Children Services of Roxbury, where he held various roles. Most recently, he served as the Director of The Beats, Rhymes, and Life (BRL) program, an Oakland-based organization that expanded to Boston through a fundraising and program expansion effort led by Darryl in 2018. BRL addresses adolescent mental health needs through hip-hop therapy, and under Darryl’s leadership, it has positively impacted over 750 youths, reducing trauma reactions by 52%, anxiety by 33%, and depression by 22%, surpassing traditional interventions.

A Place of Collaboration, Understanding, and Curiosity

As Darryl sets out on his Summer Search journey, supporting youth throughout Boston, he knows that in order for us to do this work, we must come “from a place of collaboration, understanding, and curiosity…. to push this program forward and create opportunities that will fully support our youth in discovering themselves and who they want to be.”

Join us in welcoming Darryl to the Summer Search community!