Georgia Charter Schools Association is excited to announce Malcom Mitchell as a keynote speaker for the 2020 Georgia Charter Schools Conference! Mitchell is a Super Bowl Champion, a UGA football star, author and founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of students through literacy. Read more about our amazing keynote speaker in his bio below.
Malcom Mitchell
Malcolm Mitchell is a native of Valdosta, Georgia. As a high school senior, he was an Under Armour All-American and went on to finish in the top ten all-time receivers during his playing career at the University of Georgia (UGA). While a student athlete, Malcolm was recognized as the National Captain of the Allstate Good Works Team for his frequent visits to elementary schools to read to students and talk about literacy, the first student ever at UGA to win this Honor. He also received the National Haier Achievement Award for his success beyond athletics. Additionally, Malcolm was the recipient of the Atlanta Sports Council Community Service Award, the Georgia Chapter of the National College Football Hall of Fame Jack Turner Award, and the UGA Student Athlete of the Year Award. He graduated in December 2015 from the University of Georgia with a degree in Communications.
During his freshman year in college, Malcolm developed a love of reading. Initially, reading was a challenge, however, through perseverance, books became an avenue for expanding his curiosity, creativity and learning. In 2015, Malcolm authored and published a children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat” and created a youth literacy initiative called Read with Malcolm. In 2016, he went on to establish a 501c3 organization, Share the Magic Foundation with a sole purpose: to transform children’s lives through literacy. Share the Magic Foundation’s mission is to inspire young people to read by bringing book ownership to students in Title I schools and under-resourced communities. Since its founding, the Foundation has placed books in the hands of more than 65,000 young readers and provided Read with Malcolm Literacy programming to almost 200,000 students. In 2016, he received the Children’s Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers Association, and in 2017, Malcolm signed a three-book contract with Scholastic Publishing Company.
Malcolm’s inspirational story has been featured nationally on CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA Today, CNN, MSNBC and the NFL Network and has been used by many schools as encouragement for students to embrace the importance of reading. Malcolm has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspaper articles, including USA Today and Sports Illustrated Kids (celebrating National Reading Month). In 2015, a documentary about Malcolm won the College Sports Media Outstanding Special feature.
In May 2016, Malcolm was drafted by the New England Patriots, and in February 2017 he became a Super Bowl Champion as a wide receiver for the New England Patriots. Malcolm received an Accommodation from the State of Georgia and a “Key to City of Valdosta, GA” for his work on and off the professional football field. In April 2017, Malcolm was honored at the 20th Anniversary of the President’s Summit for America’s Future and received the Promise Hero Award from Colin Powell for his contributions to youth in America by the America’s Promise Alliance. Malcolm also was the recipient of the Pinnacle Award from The International Dyslexia Association for his contributions to all individuals who struggle with dyslexia and other related reading differences so that they may have richer, more robust lives. In 2018, he received the Youth Literacy Award from the national organization, Read to a Child, for his support of youth literacy. Recently, Malcolm was selected to participate in TEDxUGA and was named by the University of Georgia as one of the University’s “40 under 40.”
Among Malcolm’s numerous awards and accomplishments both on and off the field, he considers discovering a love of reading one of his greatest achievements.
