Who we are

Where we started

Inner City Innovators emerged as a grassroots movement led by individuals who grew up and are still as committed as ever to the inner city communities they grew up in. Frustrated by the ongoing challenges in their community, Ricky Aiken and Terryon Chapman decided to take action in 2015 after experiencing one of the deadliest summers in West Palm Beach. They mobilized their peers to advocate for change and community improvement. The tragic loss of their friend and mentee, Johnny Davis, that same year highlighted the need for more than just advocacy. Johnny’s death inspired a broader mission focused on relentless community engagement, intensive mentoring, anti-violence workshops, and other initiatives aimed at breaking the cycles of violence that have long afflicted their neighborhoods.

The following year, driven by the impact of Johnny’s death, Inner City Innovators escalated its community engagement efforts. They collaborated with city leaders to develop job programs specifically targeting young men at high risk of gun violence during the summer months. Additionally, they launched hybrid mentoring programs to provide continuous support and guidance. As a result of our efforts we delivered the inaugural Summer of Peace to our community, the most violent community in our city: Watch Video

Our goal is to plant a self-sustaining Hope Dealer® Clique in every major community of concentrated violence in South Florida. We believe the same difference we’ve made in our community can be made by like-minded individuals in theirs. We believe that our Hope Dealer™ Mentoring Cliques are the key to eradicating youth delinquency and gun violence in communities like ours.

What are Hope Dealer® Cliques? Hope Dealer Cliques are young people from the target communities who are focused on embodying the changes so desperately needed in their communities. These Cliques meet on a weekly basis for mentoring, leadership development, and community service. It is our conviction that real change happens when those who need it lead. No one has more incentive to eradicate youth delinquency and gun violence more than the people with lived experience who call these communities home. Our youth are going to gravitate towards cliques and gangs for a sense of belonging, why not give them something hopeful to belong to.

Where we are going

Our Team

Norman Austin

Programs Director

Norman Austin was born in Pahokee, Florida, and raised in West Palm Beach, in the Pleasant City and Tamarind areas. The youngest of four brothers, he was raised by a single mother. With a passion for sports like basketball, football, and track and field, Norman earned an athletic scholarship in Track & Field to attend Troy University in Alabama. There, he developed skills in sports science and management, eventually graduating with a B.S. in Sport and Fitness Management. He is committed to improving his community and advocating for inner-city youth.

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Ricky Aiken

Founder & Executive Director

Ricky Aiken is the Founder and Executive Director of Inner City Innovators, an organization committed to reducing youth delinquency and gun violence through community-driven solutions. He has dedicated his life to being a catalyst for change, inspiring people from all walks of life to take ownership of the transformations their communities need. Ricky’s “boots-on-the-ground” approach stems from his deep belief that real and lasting change is only possible when it’s led by those most affected.
Born and raised in the inner city of West Palm Beach, Ricky is no stranger to the challenges of growing up in an environment shaped by systemic disadvantage. He has lived through the painful realities of homelessness, witnessed the grip of addiction within his own family, and mourned the loss of close friends to the very gun violence he now fights to prevent. By all measures, Ricky was expected to be just another statistic—an assumption he acknowledges he was once on the path to fulfilling. However, through a conscious decision to redirect his life, he embarked on a journey of personal transformation, driven by a vow to create a brighter future for himself and his community.
Today, Ricky is widely recognized across Palm Beach County for his unwavering commitment to improving outcomes for boys and young men of color residing in communities of concentrated disadvantage. His lived experiences, coupled with his deep ties to the community, have made him a trusted advocate for change. He has harnessed his personal story, turning it into a powerful tool for inspiring others and fostering resilience among those who need it most. Through Inner City Innovators, Ricky has become a symbol of hope, using his social capital to uplift his city and address the root causes of gun violence and systemic inequality.
A celebrated public speaker and mentor, Ricky is deeply invested in reshaping the narrative surrounding inner-city communities, not only in West Palm Beach but across the country. He envisions a future where these communities are no longer defined by their struggles, but by their resilience, strength, and potential. With his relentless drive and unwavering vision, Ricky Aiken is working to redefine what it means to grow up in America’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, proving that change is possible, one community at a time.

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Chelsea Koester

Operations Manager

Chelsea Koester is the Operations Manager at Inner City Innovators (ICI), where she excels in creating efficient systems and managing complex information to support ICI’s seamless operation and growth. Chelsea is deeply passionate about ICI’s mission, driven by her desire to eradicate the staggering inequities present in the communities ICI serves and ensure every child receives the support they need to succeed. Her role involves overseeing operational processes, data management, and grants to ensure ICI’s mentoring programs run seamlessly.

Before joining ICI, Chelsea worked as a landscape architect and later as an attorney, experiences that enhance her strategic and problem-solving skills in her current role. A proud West Palm Beach native, Chelsea brings a strong local commitment to her work at ICI.