Leroy Looper Bio

Leroy Looper grew up poor on the streets of Washington, DC. He had decades of struggle with substance abuse and the criminal justice system before he totally transformed his own life. For 40 years, he has taken responsibility for helping tens of thousands of ex-offenders, people with mental illness, senior citizens, youth, and people with drug addictions by founding a series of programs on both the east and west coasts. Leroy is the founding Board Chair of YouthBuild USA and the founding chairperson of YouthBuild San Francisco.

Looper also created Reality House East, a nonprofit outpatient program serving drug addicts through methadone, day treatment, and vocational workshop programs, in collaboration with Steve Chinlund; and Reality House West, a nonprofit that provides drug detox and rehabilitation services, a youth offenders residential program, housing for 160 low- income senior citizens, a re-entry program for federal prisoners, and community development work in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco. Additionally, Looper and his wife, Katherine, founded Chateau Agape, a residential care home for 27 severely mentally ill low-income adults. He has a master's degree from Antioch College West and an honorary Doctorate of Law from St. Michael's College.