David A. Messier
Chief Professional Officer
Atlantic City Boys & Girls Club

David Messier, is the Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. A resident of Atlantic City, he has served as the Boys & Girls Club executive director since 2001 and has expanded the Club’s youth membership from 200 children to over 2,300 members. He has worked as a Boys & Girls Club professional for 40 years in several cities in New Jersey, and prior to accepting the Director’s position in Atlantic City, he was employed by the National organization as a Regional Service Director serving the states of New Jersey and Maryland. “We were very pleased to have a professional of Dave’s stature in Atlantic City” stated the Club’s Board President, Dr. Scott Fuerman. “Dave has helped our Board to truly understand the importance of the work we do with young people in Atlantic City, and he is a great leader who inspires us to work hard every day to help kids.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America recently presented to David the prestigious Contribution to the Profession award. He was selected from over 15,000 professionals to receive this recognition. This award recognizes the many innovative initiatives that he helped to establish in New Jersey for Boys & Girls Clubs. He was successful in constructing new facilities in Hoboken and one in Jersey City that received national recognition in Architectural Digest and has been included in a report to Congress by the Urban Parks and Recreation program for its transformation of urban decay into hope and pride for an entire neighborhood. He has mentored many young professionals who are leaders today in the Boys & Girls Club Movement and is responsible for the development of several collaborations of organizations including the New Jersey Area Council of Boys & Girls Clubs, the New Jersey Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs and the Collaboration of Boys & Girls Clubs in Southern New Jersey. He is also being recognized for innovative programs and techniques that he developed in Atlantic City including the Champions of Youth Program, a high school drop-out prevention program and SignTex, a youth entrepreneurial/job training program.