Our Story

Profound Gentlemen (PG) was founded by two Charlotte Mecklenburg educators, Jason Terrell and Mario Shaw. Jason and Mario shared common challenges being a male educator of color without peers of a similar background to look for support; they vehemently believed that all students should regularly see positive examples of success.

Jason and Mario created PG as a space to have conversations about educational equity, student achievement, and share experiences of being one of the few men of color in their schools. Initially, they began to add educators into PG, called “Gentlemen’,” and hosted monthly meetups for teachers across Charlotte. Since 2014, PG’s program has evolved from informal meetups into a robust research-based model that utilizes coaching, peer-networks, and development opportunities to address specific barriers faced by male educators of color to retain them within the education field.

Values

Our History and Core Values Keep Us Rooted In The Work

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Love: We love one another through our actions and character. Love is the respect we give to ourselves and others. Love is how we approach our work.

Authenticity: We bring our most authentic selves into spaces. Authenticity is the vulnerability we bring to PG's inclusive spaces. Vulnerability is encouraged but never forced; however, we are excited to find opportunities to share our stories and pivotal moments that shaped who we are today.

Unity: We find opportunities to collaborate with our community. We cultivate opportunities to support each other, leveraging our staff, educators, and community members' unique abilities to make a collective impact on the communities they support. The PG space is open to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, or religion.

Growth Mindset: We think differently. We embrace opportunities to learn from our success and failures and remain committed to a continuous learning process in our vision.

Hope: We are optimistic in our approach to this work. While challenging at times, we still find joy in the small moments and work to improve the outcomes of our communities regardless of the obstacles that arise.

Servant Leadership: We lead with humility and do what's necessary for the advancement of our communities. We recognize that the betterment of our communities requires us to remain rooted in the community and propel us forward. We seek ways to leverage our past, knowledge, and skills to progress the movement.