Dennis Richmond, Jr. was born in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York. He now resides in a co-op in Yonkers. Less than one month after graduating, he led a rally after the outcome of the shooting of Trayvon Martin. After only one day of promoting the event, the turnout was over 200 people.  Since October of 2013, he was reaching out to guidance counselors to speak to students about college. In 2014, he began doing just that. In April 2015, he was featured on the 36th annual “UNCF An Evening of Stars!” where superstars Big Sean, Toni Braxton, Jussie Smollett, and others performed, he was awarded a $25,000 UNCF scholarship. In 2016, he was selected as one of HBCU BUZZ’s 30 Under 30. Founder and Director of The New York-New Jersey HBCU Initiative, he was awarded close to a dozen scholarships and has been featured in newspapers and on television across the country. He was awarded the HRHS Appreciation Award (2015), a Proclamation from the Office of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano (2017), a Citation from the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams (2017), and a Citation of Merit from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. He is one of the Branch, Banking, and Trust’s (BB&T’s) Leadership Institute’s Emerging Leaders. In May of 2017, Richmond graduated Magna Cum Laude from Claflin University with a Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies. Dennis Richmond, Jr. is also the Founder of The Dennis E. Richmond, Jr. Scholarship for Black Excellence, an annual scholarship awarded to a graduating senior in Yonkers. Richmond has a passion for education, public speaking, genealogy, music, photography, and history. Richmond is now a substitute teacher in Yonkers, who goes by the name of Mr. R.