Alvin Irby, MS, MPA
Alvin Irby is an award-winning early childhood educator, social entrepreneur, and nationally recognized literacy leader committed to helping children experience reading as joyful, empowering, and personally meaningful.
He is the founder of Barbershop Books®, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to inspiring Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun by creating child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops nationwide. Rooted in community, cultural affirmation, and belonging, Irby’s work has helped reimagine what early literacy can look like beyond the classroom.
Irby is also the creator and Chief Learning Architect of Reading So Lit®, Barbershop Books’ first-of-its-kind reading identity development platform for PK–3 students, designed to help children explore their reading preferences and generate strengths-based insights for educators and caregivers.
His work has been honored across education, innovation, and public service, including recognition as a Top 10 CNN Hero, recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize, the SXSW Community Service Award, and the Grand Prize Winner of the Wharton School’s Lipman Family Prize.
Irby’s TED Talk, How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader, has received over 1.4 million views, and his writing and advocacy continue to shape national conversations about literacy, equity, and childhood.
