Herbert “Book” McCray

Herbert “Book” McCray is the founder and president of the Independent Youth Services Foundation (IYSF), Inc., a nonprofit youth service organization created in 1993 as a youth basketball club that served youth from all over the Chattanooga region. In the year 2001, IYSF, Inc. shifted its service model focus to male mentoring, primarily stressing personal and social development with educational attainment as the “END-OF-GAME GOAL!”

Book earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Elementary Education and Education

Administration/Supervision from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He earned his Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Tennessee Technological University. He was also a presenter at the 2013 National Dropout Prevention Conference in Atlanta, GA.

As a Boys Club counselor, classroom teacher, coach, school , and nonprofit leader focusing on youth issues, Book has more than 35 years of experience in the field of youth development in the contexts of youth at risk. In his current role as the president of IYSF, Inc., he is responsible for all aspects of the organization: Raising the necessary funds to operate, programming, evaluation, cultivating partnerships, training staff, and positioning the organization to serve children in powerful and impactful ways.

Book and his wife, Willie Belle, have three adult children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Chattanooga, TN.