A multi-award winning educator, public relations professional and public speaker, Clayton Muhammad has been named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the Chicago area’s Most Notable Professionals, by the Chicago Sun Times as one of the most eloquent voices in the field, by the National School Public Relations Association an “excellent communications administration,” and by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity as Community Leader of the Midwest Region.
Raised by a single mother in the same housing projects in Aurora where he would later establish a youth development center at 20 years old, Muhammad is a former teacher, school district administrator and non-profit executive who currently serves as the Chief Communications Officer for the City of Aurora, the second largest city in the state of Illinois and the spokesman of Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin. Muhammad has served as Spokesman for three mayors in Aurora during the past seven years. Prior to that, he served for a decade as the Chief Spokesman of East Aurora School District 131 where he successfully led the efforts to secure a $32million operations referendum.
This year, Muhammad led the initial citywide communications strategy after the tragic mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company on February 15, 2019; and subsequently chaired the community campaign which raised more than $500,000 for the victims’ families.
In 2002, after a tragic summer saw 26 murders in Aurora, Muhammad founded Boys II Men, a national mentoring initiative that has been recognized by the White House as a model program. With chapters throughout the country, Boys II Men has graduated more than 300 young men who are attending colleges throughout the world and emerging as leaders in their respective professional fields.
For more than a decade, Muhammad has traveled throughout the country to deliver nearly 1,000 keynote addresses, panel discussions and workshops presentations. He is the recipient of more than 90 awards for education, communications, community service and leadership.