The All Stars Project, Inc. (ASP), a national, privately funded nonprofit organization providing award-winning free afterschool development programs for youth in poor and underserved communities, today announced that Chris Street will assume the role of CEO on November 1, 2023, succeeding Gabrielle Kurlander. Nat Christian will assume the role of National Board Chair on December 7, 2023, succeeding Maria Morris.
From the moment of its founding, the ASP has been propelled by a diverse team of leaders with extraordinary skills and deep community roots. These newly appointed executives were selected through a rigorous process to identify strong, passionate leaders best suited to take the organization into the future.
According to Board Chair Maria Morris, “Mr. Christian as Board Chair and Mr. Street as CEO will be an inspirational and formidable team, poised to honor our history and advance the mission and future impact of the ASP, while partnering with and nurturing our next generation of leaders.”
Ms. Kurlander said: “My job was to take a fledgling nonprofit, built with blood, sweat and tears around a commitment to poor communities and based on novel approaches to youth development, and transform it into a robust, influential and innovative institution. That job is done. Now, the mission is to evolve a new generation of leaders and visionary philanthropists and to bring performance and development to every corner of the field. The team of Street and Christian will deliver on this with creativity, clarity and passion.”
To this end, Ms. Kurlander will continue to be actively involved in the ASP and lead the Performance Lab, a new initiative that partners with theater artists, organizations and enclaves across the country to showcase and produce events and activities exploring human relations and social conflict through the lens of performance—on the stage and in life.
Chris Street has been an active champion of the ASP for 31 years, holding staff leadership positions for the last 23 years, most recently as President, running day-to-day operations for the last three years. Street said, “It will be the greatest honor of my life serving as the CEO of the All Stars Project, and having the opportunity to work with our Board Chair Designate Nathaniel Christian is going to be extraordinary. I trust his leadership and I know that we are going to be a great team. A centerpiece of my vision for All Stars is that we will focus on creating transformational partnerships with leading-edge educational institutions and nonprofits to uplift and empower young people and students through the developmental power of performance so that they can be better prepared to pursue their life goals.
“Additionally, the ASP has pioneered a powerful model where corporate executives roll up their sleeves and interact personally and directly with underserved youth. We call this ‘involvement philanthropy,’ and it allows caring adults from all walks of life to deploy the power of their position to enrich the lives of others, thereby enriching their own lives and the cultures of their companies. As CEO, I intend to champion this model and further demonstrate its broad social impact. It’s one thing for companies to take up the mantle of social responsibility, but it can get lost in public chatter and crossfire. Putting this commitment into action is what we do at the All Stars, and I look forward to expanding its impact.”
The work of the ASP changes lives with a focus on development through performance. It ripples through communities and contributes to a better future for our country, which is in need of new processes and experiences to unite diverse individuals and build bridges.
About the All Stars Project
The All Stars Project is a privately funded national nonprofit organization with a 40-year history of grassroots organizing and community building in poor neighborhoods. Its mission is to transform the lives of youth and poor communities using the developmental power of performance in partnership with caring adults, giving everyone the opportunity to grow. ASP’s award-winning programs bring people from all racial, economic and social walks of life together to create something positive, new and transformative for all involved. ASP operates nationally in New York City; Newark and Jersey City, NJ; Chicago; Dallas; and the San Francisco Bay Area, with volunteers and partnerships in over 20 states.
