Bill Milliken is the founder of Communities In Schools, Inc. and one of the nation’s foremost pioneers in Christian youth leadership and in the movement to give young people the help they need to graduate from high school and go on to rewarding lives. Bill serves on the Board of Directors of the Leadership Foundations.
Mr. Milliken’s activism began in 1960 after joining Young Life, an ecumenical youth organization. He helped initiate “street academies” for young people who had dropped out of school and wanted a chance to resume their education, as well as live-in programs for substance abusers and youth in need of shelter and support. His experiences led him to search for a comprehensive approach to helping young people. This search culminated in the 1970s with the development of a model program that repositioned existing community resources into schools — the Communities In Schools network, which Mr. Milliken led as president until May 2004.
Mr. Milliken has served three U.S. presidents’ administrations and has received numerous honors for his commitment to young people. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for National Service. Prior to that, he received the Visionary Ambassador’s Award from Usher’s New Look Foundation and the National Jefferson Award for Public Service, which is widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize” for outstanding community and public service.