Jovan C. Richards was a New Rochelle High School senior when he first learned of Operation PROM, a national 501(c)(3) organization that supplies prom dresses and tuxes to low-income teens. Pursuing a passion for community service, Richards joined the nonprofit’s board in 2012 and became vice president in 2015.
As president (and former 914INC. Wunderkind) Noel D’Allacco’s “right hand,” Richards coordinates with chapter leaders in eight states nationwide and helps new chapters get started. In 2017, he helped forge a partnership with Macy’s, which donated around 3,000 dresses for distribution that year.
Richards works in local government, too, as a former deputy campaign manager and now staffer for Westchester County Legislator Terry Clements. “I love my county job,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun and lets me give back to the local community and be part of it in a greater way.”
On top of his full-time work and volunteering, Richards is a master mixologist, training sommelier, and an engineer and radio producer at WVOX in New Rochelle. “I’m always honored to do everything I can,” Richards says of his jam-packed schedule. “Operation Prom is possibly the greatest give-back I currently do. At the end of the day, watching a girl walk away with a dream dress makes it worth it.”
