Roynell Young, former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro Cornerback, is Founder and CEO of Pro-Vision, Inc., a nonprofit he’s had the privilege of stewarding since 1990 with a vision for developing Houston’s often forgotten and overlooked young people. Young was selected from Alcorn State University in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He enjoyed a nine-year career in the National Football League with the Eagles before retiring in 1988 to pursue his passion for youth and community development.
Once retired, he spent months searching for how he could serve young people, particularly those engaging in behaviors that were counterproductive and destructive to their future. With that goal in mind, he founded Pro-Vision, Inc., which has since evolved into an organization that has made a notable impact on Houston’s Sunnyside community and beyond. Pro-Vision’s approach to youth and community development includes four parts: character development, education, nutrition, and safe, affordable housing. The extraordinary results of the work at Pro-Vision demonstrates Young’s vision for a self-sustainable, child-centered, adult-governed, and elderly-ruled community. As a product of the uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, that was the kind of community that nurtured Young as a child. Throughout his life, he has desired to provide a similar safety net for those who are here and those who are yet to be born.
As a result of his work, Young was chosen by the U.S. State Department to lead a televised conference in Bosnia, in 2010, on how to work with disenchanted male youth. He delivered the 2010 keynote address at the National Conference on Juvenile Justice hosted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Young was recognized for his work by former Governor Rick Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, former City Councilmember and current Member of the U.S. Congress Sheila Jackson Lee, U.S. Congressman Al Green, and former U.S. Congressman Chris Bell. His life is an example of how responsible adults can make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people.
Young received a bachelor’s of science degree from Alcorn State University and is a Senior Fellow of the Houston Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, Educational Class II. In recognition of his work at Pro-Vision, Young has received numerous awards, including the 2010 Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation Community Mentor Award, the 2010 Mentoring Award presented by the Houston Metropolitan Chapter of 100 Black Men, Inc., the 2008 Community Service Award from Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church, Who’s Who 2007, Unsung Hero Award of 2004, the Savvy Award presented by Foley’s and the Houston Chronicle, the KTRK-ABC Houston Community Service Award, and the AM 740 Everyday Hero Award. Roynell Young and the Pro-Vision story have been featured in The New York Times, Time for Kids, Guideposts magazine, and Men’s Journal, among other national news platforms. Locally, features have run in the Houston Chronicle, as well as the CBS, ABC, and Fox26 networks.
In 2017, Young was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame for the contributions he made to SWAC athletics as a student-athlete, coach, and administrator. In 2021, Young was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. He lives near Houston, Texas, with his wife, Kathleen, and is the proud father of Roynell Young Jr.
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