About

I’m Darryl Finkton Jr. I grew up poor and Black in Indianapolis — the youngest of four kids, raised by a single mother who never earned more than $30,000 a year. She worked tirelessly to keep us fed, clothed, and housed, and her love and determination shaped everything I’ve become.

I was identified as gifted early on, and I used academics and basketball as a way out of poverty. I graduated with highest honors from North Central High School in Indiana, then went to Harvard University, where I studied neurobiology and African-American studies and played Division I basketball.

At Harvard, I co-founded a non-profit focused on economic development in West Africa and the Caribbean. I traveled to some of the poorest places on Earth — and that experience changed me. I saw poverty that made my childhood look comfortable. After Harvard, I won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned an MSc in Global Health Science and an MSc by Research in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Oxford University.

After a career-ending knee injury ended my basketball aspirations, I threw myself into understanding poverty at a global scale. I went on to build a career in finance and wealth management, but I never stopped thinking about the problems I’d seen. During the pandemic, I moved to Los Angeles. A wrong turn through Skid Row — blocks of homelessness sitting next to multi-million-dollar condos — triggered something. I walked away from my career in finance and dedicated myself to ending poverty full-time.

Today, I am heavily focused on sharing what I’ve learned with children. By translating complex ideas about empathy, community, and problem-solving into children’s books, I want to equip the next generation with the tools and mindset needed to build a better world.

I’m available for speaking engagements, media interviews, consulting, coaching, and creative collaboration. Get in touch.