Meet The Team
Meet the minds and men behind The Man Project :
Richard Cade
Founder & Director
Born and raised in Birmingham Alabama, Rev. Richard Cade, founder of The Man Project, a Southeastern Bible College Alumni, located in Birmingham Alabama, is a husband and father. His career includes Executive director of engineering. His favorite quote is ‘God does not give us what we can handle. He helps us handle what we are given.’
“I truly believe that The Man Project mentorship program can produce two types of men: profitability & productivity and leadership development for sustainability throughout their life which means they are ready to achieve their goals, assist their colleagues and understand how their role can make a difference in the community and their own future.”
-Richard Cade
Marcus Laister
Co-founder/ Team Leader
Born and raised from Birmingham Ala, alumni of Miles College, located in Fairfield Ala., cofounder of The Man Project, Rev. Marcus Laister, a husband and father, career includes being an medical laboratory scientist. His favorite quote is "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. "~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“ I believe the investment of The MAN Project will impact at most basic level of understanding that an individual will mature into a new normal and become a productive citizen in society.” -Marcus Laister
Neville Palmer
Team Leader
Meet Neville Palmer a product of Birmingham, Alabama. He attended and graduated from Huffman High school. He has a degree and experience in Computer Science. Neville has always had aspirations of affecting the city’s youth in a positive way by broadening their horizons. His hobbies include movies, sports, and foreign and domestic cars.
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Favorite quote~There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time-Malcolm X
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Favorite Bible verse~II Corinthians 12:9-11 (NIV)
“But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Darrell Forte
Community Outreach Coordinator
Darrell Forte is a Birmingham Alabama native, and experienced youth advocate. He attended UAB and graduated in 2019 with a bachelors in African American Studies and minor in criminal justice. Mr. Forte is currently a UAB graduate student studying Public Administration. He is also a published author and certified personal trainer. He truly believes in the pillars of health, education, innovation, and success. His favorite quote comes from the late-great Kobe Bryant regarding Mamba Mentality which states “great things come from hard work and perseverance, no excuses.” – Kobe Bryant
“I undoubtedly believe in the importance of mentoring especially for young men of color. It is very important for the youth to see strong and righteous examples of manhood. My ultimate goal in life is to support as well as uplift our communities so that we can lead with complete self-love and self-sufficiency.” – Darrell Forte
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Favorite verse: John 16:33
Ray Howard
Community Resource Coordinator/ Mentor
Alabama's Own Youth Advocate, Minister and Mentor,
Raymond Howard began dealing drugs around the age of 14 years old, during the early onslaught of the crack epidemic. He was first arrested at age fifteen. The prognosis for his life at age seventeen was that he would be "dead in a year." Howard was in an Alabama prison by the age of nineteen where he spent nearly four years incarcerated for violent crimes that included armed robbery. Subsequently, he returned to prison twice for parole violations. He has spent a combined total of nearly seven years of his life incarcerated and thirteen years on parole. Many of his former gang and drug associates have been murdered, Including two of his close relatives. That experience Is the subject of his second book entitled 'Arrested'. God intervened around 2012 and began the long fiery process of delivering him and restoring him to his rightful place. He's now a married man and a husband. Much of that journey Is documented in his Internationally selling book FROM CRIME TO CHRIST THE WAY OF ESCAPE released in 2015.
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Raymond Howard has a riveting testimony of from Hopelessness to Victory and from Dope Dealer to Hope Dealer. "Like Nothing You've ever read before" ~Xulonpress
Gregory S. Kennedy
Mentor
Born in Birmingham, Alabama the product of a teen mom, when she was pregnant with him when she was only 16 years old, abandoned by his teenage dad, often made him think about it every but having to move on from that made me strong. Growing up in a single parent household watching his mom make the impossible happen each and every day, as a boy growing up, that brought anger and hurt in his heart.
The struggles Greg faced are no excuse for why he had decided to try to live- the street life. Thinking that it was the only way at the time to get his family and himself out of the situation of struggle financially. It was a dark path that only God could have delivered Greg from. God came and saved him multiple times on near death experiences. After trying so many different ways in the streets all the way from jail to near homelessness, Greg gave his life to Christ, and started putting 100% full focus on his purpose as man and being a strong black king in this world.
Currently in trade school for hvac is a testimony to not only his family but to other black younger males and even older males that we as young men have to beat odds against us and stop letting history repeat itself. We are all we got at the end of the day. Learning the importance of being a new father means so much to be able to say that I had my son at 19. My goal now is to try to make sure I’m doing my best life I possibly can for him.
Lots of love,
- Gregory Kennedy
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God gave you another 24 hours. What are you going to do with it? The choice is yours. God Bless All!
