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PRESIDENT | Client Development | Program(s) Administrator Athlete
Julani Ghana, former Manager of Community Relations for the 2001 NBA Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia 76ers received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (now called Philadelphia University) in 1986. As an undergraduate at the Division II powerhouse, Julani was nominated as a pre-season Honorable Mention Small College All-American basketball player. He finished his collegiate basketball career as a two-time All-Conference selection, the team’s Most Valuable Player, and the school’s all-time leader in assists and steals. Julani’s teams won over 80 games and reached the NCAA Division II regional championships in 1983 and 1985. He was recently inducted into his hometown’s Athletic Hall of Fame for Basketball and Football as well as his high school Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame.
Administrator
After numerous basketball opportunities (including tryouts for two NBA teams and a short European basketball professional career) Julani returned to the university setting to pursue a Master’s Degree. In 1990, he headed to West Chester University to begin his coaching career and assumed the title as Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Multicultural Student Outreach and Enrollment. Having served in a similar capacity at his undergraduate alma mater from 1988-90, Julani was instrumental in pioneering West Chester University’s efforts in attracting and recruiting high ability students particularly from underrepresented minority populations. The results were almost immediate as West Chester University (Pennsylvania’s second largest state university with an enrollment of nearly 12,000) witnessed a dramatic influx of undergraduate students of color. By 1991, the university had enrolled its highest number of first-time undergraduate students of African descent and the overall percentage of minority students had exceeded 11% for the first time since desegregation. Prior to Julani’s hiring, the percentage had rarely reached 8%. West Chester University is now the leading institution in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (SSHE) for first-time undergraduate minority recruitment enrolling nearly 13% of its freshmen class as students of color.
International Educator
In 1995, Julani completed his graduate studies in Higher Education Counseling with an emphasis in Multicultural, Sports Counseling and Psychology. In 1992, he was selected to teach in The Gambia, West Africa as part of the Honorable Dr. Leon Sullivan’s International Foundation for Education and Self Help and in 1996, he traveled to Ghana, West Africa where he engaged in post graduate research in Pan African and Caribbean Studies at the University of Ghana in Legon. As part of that experience, Julani was also instrumental in implementing West Chester University’s cross-educational and cultural student exchange program, which selects talented students from the university to travel to the University of Ghana each summer. In June 2001, Julani traveled to Cuba for an 11-day research tour that involving the survival of traditional African cultural systems and the general lifestyles of contemporary Cubans of African descent in socialist Cuba. He researched the Cuban educational, medical and athletic systems as well as their national philosophies on international social/race relations through the usage of sports. Counselor and Motivational Speaker
As a lecturer, mentor, teacher, coach, counselor and motivational speaker Bro. Julani (as he is most often times referred to as) has toured, presented, and has been published several times. He has done radio programs, workshops and seminars at hundreds of high schools, universities, churches, community centers, mosques, summer camps, and upward bound programs from Connecticut to Virginia. Julani has also engaged in professional/educational presentations at the Middle States Association of College Registrars and Admissions Counselors, National Association of College Admissions Counselors, the Pennsylvania Association of Secondary and College Admissions Counselors, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Pennsylvania Universities Admissions Association, and the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education. In July of 1999,
He has presented at the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in Memphis Tennessee and was invited repeat the presentation in Santa Fe New Mexico the following year.
As a well respected lecturer, his workshop topics include: “The Role of the Afrikan American Student and Faculty in the 21rst Century”, “Who is the Afrikan Man and Woman in America?” “Self-Reliance and Black Man-Garveyism”, “Panel-The Status of Black Men in America”, “Black Power and Black Culture”, “The Road to Education”, “Proposition 48, Real Help or Real Racism”, “Athletics-Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”, “Being Greek or Being Black”, “Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students at Traditional White Universities”, “Training Vs Education and Students of African Descent at Traditionally White Institutions”, “Learning How to Hear the Heartbeats of Africa’s Drums”, “Spanish Speaking Africans of the Diaspora”, ”Athletics: A Key to A New Life”, and “African Centered Approaches to Personal & Professional Development-Applying it to Student Development and Recruitment”, “Modern Athletics, Race, and Hip Hop”, “From Jack Johnson to Michael Jordan-The Evolution of Blacks in Sports”, “The Potential of Improved Human Relationships Through Sports”, “Why Today’s Athletes Deserve Your Compassion”, and “Challenges of the New Aged Pro Athlete”.
Community Organizer & Performing Artist
Julani has served on various local community boards and committees including the Chester Education Foundation, Akoffo West African Foundation Community Project, Chester Educational Task Force, Million Man March Local Organizing Committee, State System of Higher Education Joint Recruitment Program, and the Pan African Studies Community Education Program Advisory Board. Julani has been a member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations, Black Coaches Association, Universal Negro Improvement Association & African Communities League, and the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party. He is the founder and current President of the Brotherhood of NyEkundu-NyEusi-Majani (aka Beta Phi DiGamma), which in KiSwahili means Red-Black-and Green and serves the community as an African centered fraternal-type organization that teaches Pan-African and African-Centered philosophy to its members. Julani is also a percussionist/instrumentalist of traditional African percussion instruments (the ceremonial drums of Ghana, shekere, boulophone, and bells) having played along side local, national, and international masters such as Mogauwane Mahloele (Azania/South Africa), Zumbi Soweto and Baba Crowder (Philadelphia), and the legendary Babatunde Olatunji (Nigeria).
Community Relations Professional Manager & Sports Executive
As the former Manager of Community Relations for the Philadelphia 76ers, Julani served as one of the Sixers’ main links to the tri-state community. Known throughout the Philadelphia region as the “Community Relations Point Guard, one of the most visible programs Julani coordinated, included: The Sixers Neighborhood Basketball League (SNBL), which continues as a joint effort with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and sponsored by PECO Energy. This program serves over 5,000 young people ages 6 to 16 providing recreational basketball leagues in the various community centers throughout Philadelphia.
Julani also spearheaded the 76ers’ effort increase their visibility and connection to Philadelphia’s growing Spanish-speaking community through his management and expansion of the team’s La Liga del Barrio program. This unique community activity brings basketball directly to the Latino community and provides youth basketball to over 400 young people in Philadelphia’s budding Afro-Latino community. NBA Latin America, Inc. acknowledged Julani’s involvement and the 76ers’s progressive outreach efforts to the Latino community during All-Star Week. As a result of their review of La Liga del Barrio, NBA officials are looking to duplicate similar efforts in NBA cities that also have large Spanish-speaking populations.
Creative Community Programmer
One of Julani’s most unique and creative projects involved the administration of Sixers’ point guard Eric Snow’s charitable efforts under the banner, “Eric’s Challenge”. In addition to Eric’s already established Steals and Assist Donation Program where the former 76ers’s Captain donated $20 per steal and $10 per assist, Julani and Eric combined to expand Snow’s fatherhood visions. Through collaboration with Eric, Julani launched the Father-Son One-One Programs on Snow’s behalf. These unique programs developed from Snow’s vision and concern about the lack of parental involvement, particularly by fathers, in the lives of their sons. It contained two distinct initiatives and is designed to strengthen the family by focusing on father-son relationships.
The first part of Eric’s “Father-Son collaborative with Julani started with the One-on-One “On the Court” program. This initiative encourages fathers in the Delaware Valley to log on to the Sixers website (www.sixers.com) and enter a contest that could allow them to bring their sons to a Sixers game courtesy of Eric Snow. The contest required fathers to answer questions about the importance of father-son relationships however focusing on their own experiences. Eric provided complimentary tickets to over 100 father-son duos during the past three regular seasons. At each home game, Julani personally escorted the selected father-son duos courtside to meet Eric Snow and other Sixers players “on the court” for pictures, handshakes, and autographs. Julani also organized the program so that each Father-son duo would be recognized throughout the arena and later locate their picture on the website as a tribute to Eric’s commitment to building stronger father-son relationships.
The second part of Eric’s Father-son collaborative with Julani resulted in the creation of the “In the Community” program. This initiative allowed fathers to bid via on-line auction for the chance to bring their son to one of the promised monthly community outings (organized by Julani) with the Sixers’ guard and his son, E.J. All of the proceeds of the on-line auction went to support Sixers Charities.
The NBA Inside Stuff caught up with Eric, Julani, and the highest bidding father-son duo during an outing and featured the Father-Son One-on-One program to a nationally televised audience on February 2, 2002. The Father-Son programs have also been featured as part of the Sixers’ own televised pre-game show called “Sixers Jam” and have been covered extensively in the local media. In addition to his visit to the NJ State Aquarium, Julani has coordinated Eric’s other father-son community outings to places such as the Franklin Institute (which was the first community outing in December 2001), 2002 All-Star Jam Session, Sesame Street Live Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey’s 132nd Circus, an Eagles home game, Please Touch Museum, Dave and Busters and bowling.
In the early fall of 2002, Julani nominated Snow to the NBA for recognition of his charitable efforts. In December, Eric Snow was selected as the NBA Community Player of the Month for the fatherhood programs organized by Julani. Snow was awarded a check for $5,000.00 before a nationally televised game on TNT and donated the entire amount along with an additional $5,000.00 to a couple of local fatherhood organizations. Snow would later receive additional fatherhood awards including the National Father of the Year Award by the National Fatherhood Initiative in San Antonio, Texas. Eric Snow has retained his relationship with Julani and has hired PSCC to expand his Shoot for the Moon Foundation and develop his community initiatives in his hometown Canton and Cleveland Ohio community. Snow's first annual Fatherhood Clinic in Cleveland appeared on NBATV this fall.
Julani also spearheaded several groundbreaking Black History Programs for the 76ers and the city's overall arts community bringing an African Art Exhibit from featuring select artwork from Philadelphia collector Herman Bigham's nationally acclaimed "African Scuplture-Symbol of Culture" (www.octobergalleries.com/bigham) into Philadelphia's Wachovia Center for the entire month of February 2003. In addition to this effort, Julani teamed up with Philadelphia basketball godfather, Sonny Hill and served as primary host to pro basketball pioneer Earl Lloyd who is the first African American to play in an NBA game. Lloyd (former player with the Syracuse Nationals now the 76ers and also the first African American to win an NBA championship) was honored by Hill and the Sixers with one of the team's Community Service All-Star Awards for his outstanding achievements to the Philadelphia community.
Other grassroots programs included visits to Philadelphia area charter schools, community centers, boys and girls clubs, police athletic league locations and the city's African American Museum by NBA players such as John Salmons, Derrick McKey (retired) ,Samuel Dalembert, Derrick Coleman (Detroit Pistons), Willie Green, Sam Clancy CBA), Marc Jackson, Raja Bell (Utah Jazz), Alex English (NBA Hall of Fame and Toronto Raptors assistant coach) and Mike Woodson (head coach Atlanta Hawks).
Camp Organizer and Personal Assistant
Julani’s other duties included assisting the Sixers’ efforts in supporting hundreds of local charities by allocating the limited inventory of autographed memorabilia for area fund raising activities. For three consecutive summers, Julani also coordinated the annual Sixers’ Summer Hoops Tour. As the lead organizer of the tour, Julani expanded the program to become the single largest community outreach initiative sponsored by the 76ers. The Hoops Tour itself beginning at slightly more than a dozen stops, now offers approximately 40 free basketball clinics for nearly 9,000 young people throughout the Delaware Valley from mid-June until mid-August. He also organized special clinic feature guest appearances from various Sixers staff including television analyst Marc Zumoff, radio personality Tom McGinnis, and Sixers mascot Hip-Hop.
In addition to managing 76ers’s community activities, Julani coordinated appearances for many of the team’s players and served as the chief organizer for appearances as well as activities involving former Sixers superstar and one –time NBA All-Star, World B. Free who currently serves as Ambassador of Basketball for the Sixers.
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