Ashanti Branch is a master in building healthy relationships in schools, a pioneer in education reform, and in youth mental health, with over 18 years of experience. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club (EFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to seeing marginalized students graduate high school by providing them with emotional tools and mental health support. His work through the #MillionMaskMovement has reached over 80,000 participants worldwide. A recipient of the 2023 US Surgeon General’s Medallion, Ashanti is a keynote speaker, a consultant on the youth mental health crisis, a Fulbright Fellow, and 4x Tedx Speaker. His work with youth as an ‘emotional locksmith’ has been featured at SXSW, on CNN’s This is Life with Lisa Ling, on the Kelly Clarkson Show, and in the documentary about American masculinity The Mask You Live In, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Formerly a math teacher and raised in Oakland by a single mom on welfare (his father died just before he was born), Ashanti found his passion while tutoring struggling students in a school with a majority African-American and Latino population. It broke his heart to see 40% of them wanting to drop out at such a young age. By fulfilling deeper emotional needs to feel safe, seen, and heard, EFC has helped 100% of its student members graduate high school, 90% enroll in higher education, and 0% become incarcerated. EFC alumni are often the first to break generational patterns and go on to make healthier leaders, parents, and partners. Although EFC is based in California, it has now impacted schools globally, with thousands of alumni stating, “I can truly say Ever Forward Club saved my life.”