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Jeremy R. Del Rio, Esq. was born to lead people in service. It's in his blood. He inherited it from his parents and grandparents, whose tireless ministry efforts defined their lives and helped shape his own. His first service experience occurred at a street outreach in Manhattan's Union Square Park when he was eight years old and the then notorious park was known as a drug supermarket. There he witnessed a drug deal go bad and a man get stabbed, yet his parents brought him to a similar event the next weekend. He wouldn't have had it any other way, as he has worked in public service in one capacity or another for every year of his life since that otherwise gloomy afternoon. Jeremy defines his life mission as "empowering people to achieve their dreams and transform their culture and communities," and has translated that calling into a career that is uniquely suited as a spiritual, cultural, and civic leader in a postmodern world. He has straddled both faith-based and nonreligious contexts, preaching his first full-length sermon at the age of 13 and starting a youth ministry at an urban church at 19, which he directed for ten years. While a college junior, he co-founded a faith-based corporation before even knowing such a term existed. In 1996, at the age of 21, he facilitated a team of thirteen young people ages 14-21 who started Generation Xcel, a nonreligious summer day camp and after school center. He has worked as an attorney at a premier New York City law firm, led disaster relief efforts following 9/11, and written extensively on leadership, youth culture, and social justice. Jeremy returned to Generation Xcel as its first full-time executive director in 2003, after seven years of part-time, unpaid service to the agency. Under his leadership, Xcel has transformed from a strictly volunteer operation in a public housing project to one that operates two youth centers in lower Manhattan and a youth theater in the heart of the East Village; serves over 125 "at risk" kids each year through after school and summer camp programs; and touches thousands more through extensive outreach activities. Xcel's "by youth for youth" strategy - empower young people to create hope for their peers by providing viable alternatives to the streets - has been featured on local and national media and has been praised by community leaders, parents, and public officials as varied as Mayor Giuliani and Rep. Nydia Velazquez. In between, Jeremy graduated from NYU Law School in 1999, where he received various awards for public service including the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship and the Harvey Fellowship, before working for two years as an attorney at Dewey Ballantine LLP to support his public service commitments. He resigned from the firm following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to co-found the Ground Zero Clergy Task Force/Northeast Clergy Group, where he worked as operations director for fifteen months. Following 9/11, he also consulted World Vision on the administration of its $6 million American Families Assistance Fund, specifically providing community relations and designing the $1 million dollar Immigrants Assistance Program, which provided 1,000 grants averaging $1,000 each to underserved immigrant victims of the attacks. In addition, he helped design and manage the Ground Zero Relief Fund which provided direct financial assistance and case management for over 60 underserved families. Jeremy was named "Standard Bearer" of the Class of 1995 at NYU's College of Arts and Sciences for his student leadership, academic achievements, and public service. He is a featured speaker at universities, churches, and conferences, notably presenting "Thanks to Heroes" at the 9/11 anniversary Tribute to Grace and Hope at Madison Square Garden, which was broadcast globally on TBN. His work has been profiled in numerous media reports, including WNBC, FOX, Bloomberg Radio, Salem Radio Network, Sky News, BBC, NY-1, CBN, Christian Times, Tri-State Voice, Citizen, and World Vision Today, and he was profiled in the book The Power of a City at Prayer (InterVarsity Press: 2002). His articles have appeared regionally or nationally in publications such as Charisma, New Man, Tri-State Voice, Relevant, Christian Post, Youth Ministry Exchange, Charlotte Herald, Student Leadership Journal, Porpoise-Diving Life, Love Express, and numerous websites. Jeremy and his wife Diana were married on June 21, 1997, and are the proud parents of Judah. Visit Jeremy's Weblog at http://genxcel.blogspot.com. An
Intergenerational Stirring: Why Christian Churches Should Adopt
Public Schools (March
2006, Tri-State Voice, syndicated in Christian Post, Next Wave,
Youth Ministry Exchange, Porpoise-Diving Life) Keynotes: Urban Youth Workers Institute; UYWI Reload; TechMission Annual Conference; Youth Explosion Conference; Destiny Workshops: Christian Community Development Association; Billy Graham North American Institute for Emerging Evangelists; Urban Youth Workers Institute; UYWI Reload Think Tanks: Acton Institute; National Network of Youth Ministries Urbnet Summit; Willowcreek Association Leadership Conveners; Mission America's The Gospel in the City; We Care America; American Bible Society Urban Youth Strategy Churches: Christ Tabernacle (NY); Cornerstone Christian Church (NJ); The Life Christian Church (NJ); Central Baptist (NY); New Hope Fellowship (NY); Living Hope Community Church (CA) Colleges and Universities: New York University; City College; Nyack College; Alliance Theological Seminary; King's College Other: Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade; Concerts of Prayer Greater New York Pastors Prayer Summit; Mission New York; Oakland Raiders Chapel Service; NYCUP Training; 9/11 Anniversary "Tribute to Grace and Hope"; New Life New York Staff and Volunteer Training; Nueva Esperanza Capacity Building 2005
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