Claude Harriott joined the CRYSP DC Board of Directors in June 2020 after he was drawn to CRYSP by the way the organization is centered around the community.
“Growing up, I was always thinking, ‘How can I give back? How can I get involved?’,” Claude says. It’s just the way it was growing up in his family, the youngest of 4 boys, son to a preacher and community leader and a mother who recently retired after teaching for 51 years. Two of his older brothers are both coaches in south Florida and the third is a missionary leader in Asia and Africa. Claude was born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, and then moved to Belle Glade, Florida when he was 6.
A former NFL defensive end, Claude was selected in the 2004 Draft in the fifth round to Chicago. He also played for the New York , Detroit , Kansas City and the Toronto Argonauts. His professional football career spanned 9 years and 4 different countries.
That spirit of giving back started with the nonprofit Glades Youth Connection, which Claude’s father founded in Belle Glade, Florida, more than 30 years ago. The faith/spiritual-based program aims to provide opportunity to youth to help them thrive educationally and athletically. Striving to broaden the organization’s outreach, Claude, started a chapter in Washington, D.C. in early 2021. The organization has organized more than 50 food and coat giveaways in the District since then.
More recently, Claude and two other former NFL athletes co-founded the nonprofit Quest-Act, which creates and strengthens student-athletes' relationships with the community. Collegiate and professional athletes use their platforms to help youth “choose to win” every day by providing mentorship, opportunity for creative thinking, and guidance on and off the field. Quest-Act awarded its first college scholarship in May 2021.
Claude recently launched his own State Farm insurance agency in the Navy Yard, near Nationals Park.
Claude is now Vice President of the CRYSP board of directors. He lives near Barracks Row on Capitol Hill with his wife Rachel, their two daughters, and a bearded Dragon. Claude loves spending time with his family doing outdoor activities, such as biking and playing a game of competitive kickball. Inside, he creates time to watch cartoons, like X-Men and Transformers, and reads the Bible. His favorite local food spot is Jerk Pit and he savors food from the catering company Dat Southern Boy.