Born the second child of an unwed, teenaged mother in one of the poorest of neighborhoods in West Palm Beach, FL, Bro. Elvin J. Dowling, a self-described “country boy from the Sticks of Florida” began his life with limited resources but unlimited potential and an impressive record of a lifetime of leadership and service. A simple man from humble beginnings, Bro. Dowling believes his challenged background provides him with an uncommon empathy for those who have been left behind. Having lost brothers and cousins to the violence of the streets, Elvin has learned to challenge that energy into more positive endeavors, while letting his life do the singing in service to all mankind. As a result of his work, he has been awarded several honors and recognitions that help to highlight his will to succeed. Having served as an Interim Vice President of the National Urban League, Elvin is Special Assistant to former New Orleans  Mayor Marc H. Morial, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League. Having served as his Class or Student Body President every year from fourth grade through his Sophomore year of college, Elvin has also been recognized by Ebony Magazine as one of America's "Thirty Leaders of the Future" and most recently by the Network Journal Magazine as one of America's "Top 40 Under 40" Business Leaders and the Palm Beach Post’s Pathfinder’s Award for Community Service, among others. He has also made numerous television and radio appearances and is a recognized and highly sought after inspirational speaker throughout the country. Moreover, having walked a beat as a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer at Harlem’s 32^nd Precinct, and taught its public school students at a Saturday pre-college program at Columbia University, he understands - first hand - the dangers facing inner city youth and does what he can to impact the lives of the “least of these” through leadership by example.

Having received the bulk of his secondary education at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, where he was a 1994 initiate of the Gamma Iota Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Elvin received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Science, with a minor in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland University College and is certified in Executive Protection. Currently he is completing a Master of Divinity Degree from the New York Theological Seminary and is a licensed Baptist minister. A prolific writer and orator, Elvin is known for giving electrifying speeches that reach to core of the human experience, while inspiring others to reach new heights. Today, he resides in New York City with his wife and child and serves on the Boards of Directors of various community organizations and other worthwhile causes.