Full Name
Shaba Keys
Job Title
Chair
Company
Boys & Girls Club of Harlem; New York/Long Island Area Council for Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Speaker Bio
Shaba R. Keys is a recognized leader in social innovation, with over 25 years of experience driving equity, opportunity, and transformative change through education, advocacy, and strategic public-private partnerships. Her work focuses on expanding economic opportunity by connecting individual potential with employer, community, and policy-driven solutions.
As Chairperson of both the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem and the New York/Long Island Area Council for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ms. Keys has championed strategies that build opportunity pipelines to economic prosperity. Under her leadership, the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem has expanded its reach to serve more than 2,000 youth annually across six sites, with a focus on career readiness, upward mobility, and wraparound family services.
As co-founder of The Bridge Lab, Ms. Keys has developed the Future Workforce Initiative (FWI) to address labor shortages, modernizing and expanding educational pathways and workforce solutions that creates direct pathways to sustainable employment for youth, particularly those lacking access to opportunity. Partnering with organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Columbia University, and The University of Virginia, FWI integrates education and workforce strategies to meet the needs of high-growth sectors. Through strategic industry partnerships in film, media, and business, Ms. Keys ensures participants gain the skills, networks, and resources to succeed.
Ms. Keys spent a decade in senior leadership at Columbia University, where she designed and led community programming and civic engagement initiatives. She spearheaded a $1 million workforce readiness initiative in partnership with Empire State Development of New York, creating education-to-employment pathways for opportunity-limited youth. She also led grant-making and capacity-building programs supporting more than 60 nonprofit partners and pioneered community-focused initiatives like the Connecting Youth Initiative, which provided educational support and career training to more than 400 young people
Building on this experience, Ms. Keys now serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Nonprofit Management Master of Science program at the School of Professional Studies, where she designed and teaches Leadership in Advocacy and Strategy in the Nonprofit Sector. Through this course, she equips the next generation of nonprofit leaders with the strategies and skills needed to navigate complex challenges and drive meaningful change. Additionally, she serves as co-chair of the Columbia University Seminar on the Collaborative of Community Programs for Youth and Families.
Recognized as one of the 25 Empire Whole Health Heroes for New York City in 2022, Ms. Keys is recognized for her ability to align strategy, policy, and partnerships to create meaningful and lasting change. A trusted voice on boards and advisory committees focused on education and economic growth, she is a champion of inclusive systems that increase participation, and address the challenges of a dynamic economy.
Ms. Keys holds a Certificate of Business Excellence from Columbia Business School at Columbia University, a Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Tufts University.
As Chairperson of both the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem and the New York/Long Island Area Council for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ms. Keys has championed strategies that build opportunity pipelines to economic prosperity. Under her leadership, the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem has expanded its reach to serve more than 2,000 youth annually across six sites, with a focus on career readiness, upward mobility, and wraparound family services.
As co-founder of The Bridge Lab, Ms. Keys has developed the Future Workforce Initiative (FWI) to address labor shortages, modernizing and expanding educational pathways and workforce solutions that creates direct pathways to sustainable employment for youth, particularly those lacking access to opportunity. Partnering with organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), Columbia University, and The University of Virginia, FWI integrates education and workforce strategies to meet the needs of high-growth sectors. Through strategic industry partnerships in film, media, and business, Ms. Keys ensures participants gain the skills, networks, and resources to succeed.
Ms. Keys spent a decade in senior leadership at Columbia University, where she designed and led community programming and civic engagement initiatives. She spearheaded a $1 million workforce readiness initiative in partnership with Empire State Development of New York, creating education-to-employment pathways for opportunity-limited youth. She also led grant-making and capacity-building programs supporting more than 60 nonprofit partners and pioneered community-focused initiatives like the Connecting Youth Initiative, which provided educational support and career training to more than 400 young people
Building on this experience, Ms. Keys now serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Nonprofit Management Master of Science program at the School of Professional Studies, where she designed and teaches Leadership in Advocacy and Strategy in the Nonprofit Sector. Through this course, she equips the next generation of nonprofit leaders with the strategies and skills needed to navigate complex challenges and drive meaningful change. Additionally, she serves as co-chair of the Columbia University Seminar on the Collaborative of Community Programs for Youth and Families.
Recognized as one of the 25 Empire Whole Health Heroes for New York City in 2022, Ms. Keys is recognized for her ability to align strategy, policy, and partnerships to create meaningful and lasting change. A trusted voice on boards and advisory committees focused on education and economic growth, she is a champion of inclusive systems that increase participation, and address the challenges of a dynamic economy.
Ms. Keys holds a Certificate of Business Excellence from Columbia Business School at Columbia University, a Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Tufts University.
