He spent 18 years at the University of South Florida where he created, directed, researched, and managed organizations and projects that served communities and youth in economic development and job creation activities, as well as school-based and out of school intervention programs. Programs he directed include the nationally recognized Prodigy Youth Cultural Arts Program, a juvenile justice court diversion resiliency-based program for at-risk and arrested youth that has among the lowest recidivism rate in the state. He founded the College Link program that served about 2000 high school youth annually with tutoring and mentoring. He has also created micro lending programs and job development centers. He has been awarded over 25 grants and contracts from federal, state, and local agencies and foundations and has presented his work both domestically and internationally.