Alvin Irby, M.S., MPA
Alvin Irby is an award-winning early childhood educator, social entrepreneur, TED speaker, comedian, and author. He is Founder and Chief Reading Inspirer at Barbershop Books, a national literacy nonprofit that inspires Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun. Irby won the 2023 SXSW Community Service Award, was named a PepsiCo Foundation and Doritos 2023 Black Changemaker, and received the 2016 National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize for his work expanding book access for children. He is passionate about helping educators, librarians, and caregivers create learning experiences and environments that inspire children to identify as readers and to read for fun.
Alvin Irby earned an MS in Childhood Education from Bank Street Graduate School of Education, an MPA in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, and a BA in Sociology from Grinnell College.
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