D’Aundray (Dre) Brown has been selected to be the Central YMCA’s Executive Director beginning April 5, 2023. Dre has served as Sports & Recreation Director for the Central Y since February 2021 and was involved with the YMCA as a volunteer the two years prior. In 2022 Dre joined the YMCA of Youngstown’s Senior Leadership Team as Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer, a dual capacity in which he will continue to serve.
“Dre Brown is the perfect fit to lead the Central Y” says Tom Gacse, CEO & President of the YMCA of Youngstown. A native of the city of Youngstown, with deep roots in the community, Dre has a unique vantage point on the youth served at the Y because he was one of those kids. He has proven adaptability to differing cultural and business environments. Dre is a diplomatic leader with the ability to collaborate and engage volunteers, and a team builder who creates an atmosphere where everyone is fully engaged. The Central YMCA and our community are truly blessed to have Dre in this leadership role.”
Dre holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Cleveland State University. He has worked in the non-profit sector since 2015 as the founder and CEO of DreDay Foundation 32 Inc., an organization focused on building youth, families, and communities through sports in non-traditional settings, including basketball camps and skill development clinics.
As a four-year, full scholarship starter at Cleveland State University, Dre also served as the basketball team captain. After college, he went on to play professionally for the NBA G League Canton Charge, and the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. He then spent several years as a coach, coordinator, and business manager for NBA Athlete Norris Cole of the Miami Heat where he conducted brand endorsement deals and trained various collegiate and professional athletes in Miami, Florida. Dre has also worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers Youth Programs, Chaney High School, and Bader High School as a player development coach.
Dre was instrumental in starting the Respect League for young adults at the Central YMCA in 2021, a leadership and basketball league collaboration with The Respect Foundation, the City of Youngstown, and Community Initiative to Reduce Violence. This league branched out into the Respect Mentoring Program for boys ages 11–17, funded by a grant from the YMCA of the USA and its Boys and Young Men of Color (BYMOC) initiative. In his role as Sports & Recreation Director, Dre has collaborated with schools, youth-serving organizations, and other entities including the city of Youngstown Mayor’s Office, the Youngstown Police Department, and the Mental Health & Recovery Board. Dre has led the YMCA of Youngstown’s Financial Assistance Committee and served on the Y’s Child Abuse Prevention Committee which just received accreditation in December 2022. Dre was selected to be in the inaugural cohort of the Ohio Alliance of YMCA’s Leadership Academy for up-and-coming YMCA Professionals.
Dre is currently serving on the Trumbull & Mahoning County DEI Committee, the Hope Conference Planning Committee for the city of Youngstown, the Emerging Multicultural Leadership Planning Committee for YMCA of the USA, the IDEA Planning Committee for Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, and Youngstown Parks & Green Space Action Team. His public speaking events have included The Boys and Girls Club, DreDay Foundation 32 and Mahoning County Mental Health & Recovery Board Athletic Workshop, Cleveland State University and the Levin College of Public Affairs, Youngstown State University and Cleveland State University Men’s Basketball Programs, and Ursuline High School Black History Month Event.
“I’m truly honored and blessed for this opportunity the Y has given me. Not only do I have a job that I love, but a career that gives opportunities to those who might not have been afforded any. The Y is a cause-driven organization and I believe it is my purpose in life to help champion that cause. As a child who grew up in this very building and considered it to be a pillar, a fun place, and a refuge in my life, I plan to further instill that feeling in our youth and throughout the community.”
Dre will be serving in the position of Central YMCA Executive Director, following Beth Scheller, YMCA Chief Operating Officer, who has served as Interim Executive Director since April 2021.
