Newton B. Sanon

Mr. Newton Sanon obtained a BA in Psychology in 1997 from the University of Wisconsin-Stout; he continued his studies at UW-Stout and obtained a Master’s Degree in Training in Human Resources Development in 1999, graduating in the top fifteen percentile of his class.

After leaving the University, Mr. Sanon joined the Minnesota Vikings as a youth counselor; he coached inner city youth on the fundamentals of football, life skills, and decision-making.  In 1998, Mr. Sanon returned to his hometown of Miami, Florida, where he joined the Miami Dolphins as an operations assistant, supporting football operations and working with the NFL Youth Challenge program, which provides youth development programming to kids of all ages.

In 2000, Mr. Sanon moved on to Broward Community College (BCC), where he became Project Director for the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs Project (also known as the G.E.A.R U.P. Project). This project provided tutoring, mentoring, homework assistance and interactive college tours for middle school youth residing in the housing developments. Under Mr. Sanon’s leadership, participating students saw significant academic improvement, with several students more than doubling their GPA (1.5 to 3.0+).  Mr. Sanon’s emphasis on contextual based learning, as well as help from a few NFL friends, was key to this marked improvement.  Mr. Sanon ran the Gear Up Project for two and a half years, leaving BCC in 2002 to join Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of Broward County as Executive Director.  As the Executive Director, Mr. Sanon has greatly expanded services to the Ft. Lauderdale area; OIC of Broward County’s budget has increased from $125,000 to now $3.1 million under Mr. Sanon’s stewardship.

OIC of Broward County specializes in working with individuals who are re-entering society after being incarcerated, and is the leading provider of job training and placement for ex-offenders in the area.  OIC has been positively acknowledged by the local WIB attested by an almost 100% increase in its contract award for exceeding all programmatic goals.  OIC also was able to solidify funding from the United Way for its Prisoner Reentry initiative; this funding was also increased as result of high performance.  OIC has also highlighted at the annual United Way Celebration in the past as “Program of the Year”.  Most notably, OIC of Broward County won the Presidents Prisoner Reentry solicitation award put out by the Department of Labor (DOL). According to DOL, this was the most competitive solicitation in the department’s history, with only 30 awards for over 500 hundred applications. OIC of Broward County not only received the only award in the State of Florida but the only award in the entire southeast region. OIC has been awarded over $2 million to date over the past 4 1/2 years to serve non-violent ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into society and get jobs. As a result of Mr. Sanon’s leadership, along with a dedicated staff, over one thousand former welfare recipients and ex-offenders have gone to work in the past 9 1/2 years and are now taxpaying citizens of Broward County.

Under Mr. Sanon’s leadership OIC also currently provides programming to youth by way of its Teen Pregnancy Prevention initiative which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This initiative aims to protect youth from risky behaviors that may derail their ability to become productive members of society. OIC also provides programming to youth and their parents via the Healthy Relationship Healthy Marriage Initiative also funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

OIC continues to broaden its scope of program offerings to the community, in order to empower those served through training, education and jobs. Today OIC of Broward County offers programming with an expanded partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, via Green Jobs training under the Path Ways out of Poverty and the Energy Training Partnership initiatives. OIC also offers substance abuse treatment services having adopted the Therapeutic Community Model via the Offender Reentry Program (ORP) funded by SAMSHA and the United Way of Broward County Substance Abuse Division.

Newton B. Sanon, President and CEO of OIC of Broward County, is committed to the advancement of the underserved via vocational training and education; particularly with youth where many have little to no positive African American male figures in their lives. Mr. Sanon states that “Despite the many challenges we face, we live in the best country in the world, with boundless opportunities. I simply look to be a convener of awareness, access and action with the aspiration that all may have at a minimum, the opportunity to realize the greatness within us all.

Mr. Sanon has also recently been selected as one of The 40 Most Influential & Prominent Black Professionals of South Florida Under the Age of 40 by Success South Florida Magazine.