Highland Park, NJ — In a time when visibility is often confused with value, Ashton Burrell continues to prove that real change doesn’t need a spotlight — only purpose. With more than a decade of dedication to youth, justice, and community empowerment, Burrell has emerged as one of 2025’s most impactful, yet humbly persistent, leaders.

A product of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from birth but raised in New Jersey, Burrell is the founder of The Live Mentorship Program (LMP) — launched in 2011 to provide mentorship, leadership development, and life skills to youth ages 9 to 19, regardless of socioeconomic status or cultural background. Since its inception, LMP has supported over 3,000 students and maintained a 100% high school graduation rate, helping countless young people pursue higher education and brighter futures.

In present day this transition is still moving through Zone 6 Teen Youth Center, there Burrell designs and leads safe, resource-rich programs for his surrounding community from infants to senior citizens. In May 2025, he expanded the center’s food distribution service to three days a week, providing fresh produce and groceries for more than 500 citizens facing food insecurity

— a vital and growing lifeline for the community.

His passion for service started early. In elementary school, Burrell helped coordinate a humanitarian aid project in Malawi — a collaboration that included working directly with the country’s Prime Minister. That early experience ignited a lifelong commitment to both global and local impact.

Beyond the borders of his hometown, Burrell has organized social justice rallies, advocated for equitable hiring practices, and supported disaster relief efforts from Houston, Texas to Africa. As a Governor-appointed Chairman of the New Jersey Human Relations Council and an Executive Board Member of the NAACP New Brunswick Branch, he continues to drive policy and leadership development for the next generation.

This spring, Burrell’s influence reached a new milestone with the release of his debut novel, Hope 4 A 2nd Chance, published on May 24, 2025. The book tells the gripping story of James Hope, a wrongfully incarcerated teen navigating a corrupt justice system with the help of a former inmate turned prison law mentor. Through complex characters and emotional depth, Burrell sheds light on resilience, redemption, and the power of mentorship. The book is available now on Amazon.

In a moment that captured his growing statewide influence, Burrell delivered the keynote address at the Phil Simms North–South Football All-Star Game at Kean University on June 7, 2025, speaking to top athletes from across New Jersey about purpose, leadership, and unity.

Over the years, Burrell has received multiple accolades, including the Johnson & Johnson MLK Community Service Award, NAACP President’s Award, the NJ Governor’s Jefferson

Award for Innovator, and most recently, the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Award from the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).

“I never set out for recognition,” Burrell said. “I just wanted to be the person I once needed someone who shows up, listens, and reminds people that their life still has purpose.”

Currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at Capella University, Ashton Burrell continues to be a quiet storm — not seeking the stage, but changing lives with every step.