OUR LEADERSHIP
Meet the Team
A leadership partnership built on trust rather than titles — united by a common vision for strengthening fathers and transforming communities.
Founder &
Managing Partner
Founder & Managing Partner | Frat Dads LLC
Melvin L. White, M.S.
Melvin L. White is the Founder & Managing Partner of Frat Dads LLC, creator of Dads on Duty™, and a nationally recognized fatherhood educator, speaker, facilitator, and published author. His commitment to strengthening fathers and families began long before Frat Dads was founded.
Growing up without a father figure, Melvin experienced firsthand the profound influence that positive male role models can have in the life of a child. At the age of fifteen, he enrolled in the Early Childhood Education Program at East High School in Cleveland, where classroom instruction, clinical experiences, and practicum training ignited a lifelong passion for strengthening children, families, and communities.
After graduating, Melvin began his professional career as a preschool and early childhood teacher, spending more than twenty years working directly in the classroom with young children and partnering closely with their families. His understanding of early childhood development was shaped not only through education and training, but through years of hands-on teaching—supporting children as they learned, developed, and built the foundations that would shape their growth.
While continuing to teach, he earned an Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education from Cuyahoga Community College, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Organizational Management from Tiffin University, and a Master of Science in Leadership from Walden University.
His commitment to fatherhood extended beyond the classroom through more than a decade of service with the Cuyahoga County Fatherhood Initiative, including the Men in Early Childhood Education initiative. Later, while serving for eight years as a facilitator for the nationally recognized Boot Camp for New Dads®, he noticed fathers consistently asking one question:
"What do we do after we get home?"
That question became the catalyst for creating Frat Dads LLC—an educational organization dedicated to equipping fathers with practical knowledge, leadership development, and innovative educational systems that strengthen families and communities.
Today, Melvin continues that mission by developing practical educational systems, training professionals, speaking, writing, and equipping fathers with the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to lead their families. His published works include Breaking the Cycles of Abandonment (I Am Not My Father), Disconnected: Love in the Gray Areas, and the Daddy & Desi children's book series.
As Founder & Managing Partner, Melvin believes that fathers don't need to be perfect—they need preparation, support, and someone who believes in them until they believe in themselves. That philosophy guides every program, resource, and educational system created through Frat Dads because when fathers are prepared, children thrive, families grow stronger, and communities become healthier for generations to come.
Dr. Christopher Hawkins, Ph.D., LPCC-S, CCJS
Managing Partner | Frat Dads LLC
Although Dr. Christopher Hawkins and Founder & Managing Partner Melvin White had known one another professionally for more than two decades through Cuyahoga Community College and years of playing basketball together, their conversations rarely extended beyond work and the basketball court. That changed after an unexpected invitation to attend a Brother-to-Brother Conversation (B2B) meeting.
Chris accepted the invitation and quickly became an integral part of the initiative, helping facilitate meaningful conversations that challenged men to grow, heal, and support one another. As the partnership grew, Melvin shared his vision for Frat Dads—a fatherhood-centered educational organization dedicated to equipping fathers and father figures with the knowledge, resources, and support needed to strengthen families and communities.
Over the next two years, the two began facilitating Frat Dads workshops together and quickly discovered that the same chemistry, trust, and leadership they had developed through B2B naturally extended into the Frat Dads mission. Without discussion or direction, each instinctively created space for the other to teach, facilitate, encourage, and lead.
Managing Partner
Their complementary strengths, mutual respect, and unwavering commitment to the mission created a leadership partnership built on trust rather than titles. Recognizing Dr. Hawkins' professional expertise, shared vision, and dedication to the organization, Melvin invited him to become Managing Partner of Frat Dads LLC.
For more than twenty-six years, Dr. Hawkins has dedicated his career to helping individuals, families, and communities thrive through education, counseling, leadership, and mentorship. As an Associate Professor at Cuyahoga Community College, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Supervisor (LPCC-S), Nationally Certified Clinical Forensic Criminal Justice Specialist (CCJS), researcher, and published author, he has worked extensively with children, adolescents, adults, families, school districts, juvenile justice systems, and community organizations while mentoring doctoral students in qualitative and quantitative research. Drawing on those experiences, he helps ensure Frat Dads' Mental Health & Wellness initiatives remain practical, culturally responsive, evidence-informed, and grounded in the real-life needs of the individuals, families, and communities the organization serves.
Today, Dr. Hawkins helps lead Frat Dads with the belief that lasting change begins when people are equipped with knowledge, supported through authentic relationships, and empowered to reach their full potential. Together, Melvin White and Dr. Christopher Hawkins continue to lead Frat Dads with a shared commitment to education, servant leadership, and community partnership—strengthening fathers, transforming families, and creating healthier communities for generations to come.