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Our Leadership
Meet the passionate team
Our CEO
Chaz Chapman
“The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty”
Chaz Chapman is the Founder and CEO of CATALYSTS, a philanthropic initiative investing in emerging Black and Brown leaders who are creating positive disruption in their communities. Founded in 2016, CATALYSTS was born out of Chapman’s belief that communities are strongest when those closest to the challenges are also empowered to shape the solutions. The initiative serves as both a funding platform and leadership ecosystem that encourages young changemakers to invest in the ideas and impact already emerging within their own communities.
Chapman launched CATALYSTS after recognizing a persistent disconnect in the nonprofit sector—where philanthropic dollars often flowed into Black and Brown communities without meaningful representation among the donors or decision-makers supporting the work. He envisioned a model that would mobilize philanthropy within those communities themselves, allowing emerging leaders to both support and see themselves reflected in the people investing in their success.
His vision was also shaped by personal experience. While attending college, Chapman balanced school with work to cover living expenses, often passing on opportunities such as study abroad programs or experiential learning that many of his peers could access more easily. That experience reinforced his belief that many students and young leaders are not lacking talent or ambition—they simply need access to resources and early investment to expand their impact.
Since its founding, CATALYSTS has raised and deployed more than $20,000 in scholarships and philanthropic investments, supporting 13 student leaders and four emerging nonprofit organizations in the Atlanta area. Through initiatives such as the C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T.S. Scholarship (Cultivating Achievers To Actively Lead & Yield Strategic & Transformative Success), launched in partnership with Kennesaw State University, Chapman has created opportunities for emerging leaders who are deeply engaged in their communities but often overlooked by traditional scholarship and funding pipelines.
Looking ahead, Chapman is working to expand CATALYSTS into a broader ecosystem that includes a national scholarship network, a philanthropic giving circle of Black and Brown donors, and a leadership incubator designed to strengthen minority-led nonprofit organizations through strategic capacity-building and people-centered leadership practices.
In addition to his work with CATALYSTS, Chapman is an organizational strategy and workforce development professional with nearly a decade of experience advising institutions on culture, leadership strategy, and workforce effectiveness. He currently serves as a Senior Associate at The Segal Group, where he partners with colleges, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations on organizational design, employee engagement, workforce analytics, and strategic planning initiatives.
Chapman holds a Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Georgia. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his Airedale Terrier, Jäger, and continues to grow CATALYSTS as a platform that invests in leaders, strengthens communities, and reimagines what community-rooted philanthropy can look like.
