About
Titus Foundation Inc.
The Titus Foundation Inc. is a 501c3 established to aid young people and place-based initiatives in underserved communities. The primary focus areas are scholarships & academic support, athletics & recreation, and employment & training. Our Mission is to nurture the youth of today while lighting the pathways for the leaders of tomorrow.
MEET OUR TEAM
The Titus Foundation is a Family Affair- The team is comprised of Charlie Titus, his children, Andre and Ciaren, His sister Gail, his cousin Linda Weaver, and long-time family friend Keith McDermott.
Currently retired as the Vice Chancellor for Athletics, Recreation, Special Projects & Programs at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Titus was instrumental not only in the growth of UMass Boston athletics, but also of collegiate athletics in New England and across the country.
One of the most prominent and respected names in collegiate athletics, Charlie Titus was the face of the University of Massachusetts Boston athletics for over three decades.
Having served as UMass Boston’s first Director of Athletics, Titus helped launch the UMass Boston athletics program, which over the years has attained tremendous success, including multiple national, regional, and conference championships.
Since his beginnings at UMass Boston, Titus has held several positions across the university, including the university’s first and only Head Coach of Men’s Basketball until 2015. Titus also received perhaps one of the greatest honors any coach can hope to receive – being named to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Titus is a two time (LEC) conference Coach of the Year; he has served on several committees both at the university level and in collegiate athletics. Still a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Titus has played a major part in developing policies that have significantly shaped collegiate athletics today. He also served as the institution’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs for two years.
Over the years, he has also served on the NCAA Division III Membership Committee and the ECAC Board of Directors. He was the past Chair of the ECAC Basketball Commemorative Officials Committee and a past member of the NCAA Regional Basketball Committee.
Titus called the first meet of 18 small college in New England to discuss forming a basketball conference. He then played a critical role in the formation and development of the Little East Conference, which has established itself as one of the premier Division III athletic conferences in New England.
Highly respected by his peers and colleagues, Titus has received multiple honors throughout his distinguished career, including the 2005 General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award from the All American Football Foundation. The NCAA honored him with its Diversity in Athletics Award, Gender Diversity Award, Racial Diversity Award, and Excellence in Diversity Award. NACDA named him Athletic Director of the Year.
Over the last 13 years, Titus has been inducted into six different Halls of Fame. He was first named to the Hall of Fame of Saint Michael’s College, where he was a standout basketball player before graduating in 1972. Titus served on the Saint Michael’s college Board of Trustees for eight years. In 2005, UMass Boston enshrined him into its Hall of Fame as a way to honor him for his tremendous contributions to the university. He was inducted with inaugural class into the Little East Hall of Fame, he is a member of the Bay State Games Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in June of 2022.
Along with his many contributions to the world of collegiate athletics, Titus has also been extremely active in the local community. Every year, Titus led a community service effort in which each of UMass Boston’s Athletics teams worked with a host of groups and organizations in the local Boston area.
In addition, every summer since 1999, he participates in the Y.E.S. with AFRICA program. The program affords young athletes and coaches in West Africa the opportunity to participate in basketball clinics conducted in West Africa by Titus or UMass Boston’s Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Jason Harris, together with the program’s West African Athletics staff.
Titus has also been recognized as a member of the Ten Outstanding Young Leaders of Greater Boston and has also accepted the Judge Harry Elam Award and the Boston Parks and Recreation Award, both of which honor his service to youth in Boston.
Charlie is a seasoned administrator whose many skills include organizational development, assessment and evaluation, staff training and development and strategic planning.
In his early career Titus spent time as the Director of Youth Affairs for Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and Director of youth Programs for the Lena Park Community Center. A Boston-area native, Titus grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts and attended Boston Technical High School before attending Saint Michael’s College. Currently he splits his time between Boston Massachusetts and Sarasota Florida.
Andre “AJ” Titus was born and raised in Roxbury. During his childhood, Andre was a mainstay on the youth basketball scene. Growing up, his time was split between Roxbury’s Shelburne Recreation Center and Umass Boston where Boston his father was Athletic Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach. As a youth. the summers would begin at the National Youth Sports Camp at Umass and end at either Malcolm X or Peter’s Park in many epic BNBL battles. He attended Boston College High School, graduating in 2003. Andre then went on to play college basketball for his father at Umass Boston from 2004-to 2009. In 2005-2006, his sophomore year, Andre helped lead the Beacons to their first-ever Little East Conference Championship, (he was named outstanding player for the conference tournament), and second NCAA Tournament berth. Andre completed his playing career as the all-time leader in games played.
After completing his Bachelor of Liberal Arts at the University of Massachusetts, Andre went on to spend the next eight years working with state and community organizations and has extensive experience processing M/WBE, DBE and other minority owned business certification applications. In 2017, he was hired by MarkePlace Development an airport development company to manage the ACDBE Program at Logan Airport. Since joining the MarketPlace Development team Almost 5 years ago, Andre has been a vital part of the joint venture review process by providing guidance that has led to the approval of several joint ventures tied to significant lease packages. Andre has also proven to be an invaluable resource for the ACDBE tenants at Logan airport by also aiding in certification matters as well as general business development of numerous ACDBE Certified firms.
Born and raised in Boston Massachusetts Ciaren graduated from Edward Kennedy Health Careers academy. She attended Morgan State University and the University of Massachusetts Boston before pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
Recently Ciaren has been heavily involved in the aviation business, getting her start in 2017 as a flight attendant and now working for Signature Flight Support in Bedford MA. She also continues to pursue opportunities in the entertainment field as a songwriter/performer which has been a lifelong dream of hers. She has lived in Atlanta Georgia and frequents Los Angeles California in pursuit of her music dreams.
Outside of all that Ciaren is very passionate about her community and uplifting those in it. Incorporating music, Ciaren has introduced many ideas for the youth in her community on how to prepare them for opportunities in the music industry, from songwriting workshops to music business seminars. Ciaren has a bright future as a leader of this community with so much to offer we are happy to have her apart of the team!
A graduate of Sheffield Academy in Western Massachusetts Gail is a lifelong Boston Resident. Her early career was dedicated to community service, First, at Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) in the Youth Affairs Division where she worked on employment services for young people. After a few years she moved to the ABCD Weatherization program, assisting Boston residents with home heating and insulation projects.
Feeling a passion for working with young people Gail decided to leave ABCD and continue as a youth worker at the Roxbury Boys & Girls Club where she worked with adjudicated youth as a member of the Roxbury Tracking Project, a Tri-agency program operated by the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club, the Roxbury YMCA, and the Lena Park Community Center. After success with Roxbury Tracking, she was recruited by the Greater Roxbury GRIP program where she helped prepare young people for careers in the construction industry.
In 1983 Gail decided on a career changed and joined the MBTA as a bus driver where she served as Shop Steward for the last nine years of her tenure retiring in 2007.
Feeling the tug of service in 2013, Gail returned to work as a special needs’ bus monitor for the Boston Public Schools. She soon became President of Bus Monitors Local #2936 United Steel Workers Union where she continues to serve.
Gail Resides in Mattapan Mass.
Keith McDermott bring over 30 years’ experience as an administrator with exceptional leadership in community and government relations to the Titus Foundation. He is semi-retired as he is currently serving as the director of development for 3PointFoundation (3Point). Prior to 3Point, he served as the director of the Reggie Lewis Center where he was instrumental positioning the Center in engaging the local community, business and political leaders that led to the Center being recognized as the premier athletic facility in the country. During his tenure as the director of the Reggie Lewis Center maintained a worldwide track facility reputation and for its emphasis on strong commitment involvement. Over a 20-year period; he used his collaborative and strong interpersonal skills to attract various events to the Center such as; the USA Track and Field, the NCAA Track & Field Championships, Nike High School Track and Field, Massachusetts All-State Track and Field Championships, New Balance Gran Prix Track and Field Championships and many other regional, national and internationally track meets. Many of these events have been internationally televised by networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC Sports over the years and also resulted in economic and social impacts on the city and the state.
His commitment to engaging community with resources that mutually benefit both are central to his professional DNA. Before serving as the director of the Center, he served as the director of community relations at Northeastern University where he was responsible for the coordination of all external and internal activities involving the University’s community outreach; local businesses, community leaders, residents and civic organizations in the Greater Boston area. He has served on the Transition teams of Massachusetts’ Governor Charlie Baker and Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh. He is currently serving on boards such as the Boston Athletic Association, Tempus Unlimited, UMass Boston Sports Leadership Advisory Board and the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association. Prior board affiliations included the Kevin Fitzgerald Foundation, Beaver Country Day School, METCO, Madison Park Development Corporation Board of Directors. He was also appointed by three different governors to Massachusetts Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Keith is married to his wife Cheryl for 33 years and counting and has two sons (Marcus and Myles) and a daughter (Chayna). He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Springfield College and his Master’s degree from Syracuse University.