Born in Chicago and raised on the South Side, Jennifer O. Maddox is the founder of Future Ties, a not-for-profit organization that provides a safe place where youth can come and experience love, support, and protection. A single mother of two African American males, and a new grandmother to a beautiful grandson, Jennifer holds multiple advanced degrees and has 23 years of service with the Chicago Police Department, currently working in Restorative Justice Division. She fights to educate, protect, and serve communities, and in 2011, she incorporated Future Ties to provide after-school and summer programs to youths and also training in workforce skills and other topics for parents as well as teens of the Woodlawn community, primarily residents of Parkway Gardens Apartments. Jennifer has won multiple awards and honors, including being named one of CNN's top ten Heroes for 2017 and as "Someone You Should Know" by ABC 7.