De Quan O’Neal is an advisory board member of Neighborhood Service Organization’s Youth Initiatives Project (YIP), a youth leadership and advocacy training program. De Quan is a graduate of YIP’s Leadership Institute and a sophomore at Osborn Evergreen Academy on Detroit’s east side. De Quan organized a well-attended press conference at Detroit’s City Hall in December with 35 of his peers to kick off the 2012 Hugs Not Bullets Campaign to discourage gun violence and celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve. He has worked tirelessly to recruit scores of teen males of color to become part of the campaign. De Quan also helped coordinate the highly successful Male Empowerment Breakfast in March that featured adult male role models who shared helpful insights on life, career and manhood with Osborn University High School students.