George E. Shinhoster came of age in the civil turbulence of the 1960s. A native of Savannah, Ga., he was one of the first African Americans to desegregate a high school and college there. He worked with the Chatham County Crusade for Voters to register black citizens to become voters. In the heat of the civil rights struggle, Mr. Shinhoster worked with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as a field organizer in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. After joining the SCLC, George endured arrest 19 times in pursuit of voting rights and equal access to public accommodations for black people throughout the South. He marched with Dr. King, experiencing firsthand his leadership, commitment, and drive in the midst of the struggle.

George worked with the YMCA for 42 years as an executive in Georgia, South Carolina, Washington state, and North Carolina, before retiring as president and CEO of the Newark YMCA in New Jersey in 2011.  He was also a national trainer and facilitator for the YMCA. Today, he is president of The George Shinhoster Experience, an enterprise that highlights Mr. Shinhoster’s exploits through speaking, storytelling, and facilitation. He is also a principal of the Earl T. Shinhoster Youth Leadership Institute, preparing middle and high school students to become leaders in their schools and communities. Throughout his travels across the country, in Africa and in Canada, Mr. Shinhoster energizes audiences with lessons he learned from the early civil rights movement. He is a keeper of the dream of Dr. King and believes that while much as been accomplished, much more remains to be done.