Uncle Charlie & Aunt Liz · Art · Fuller Road, Montgomery, Alabama
Art Fuller
M.Ed., MPH / DHSc (ABD) · Anticipated Graduation Fall 2026
Art Fuller is an educator, author, and social entrepreneur whose entire career has been focused on elevating youth and teens. He is the founder of Voice Up, a global network that connects students, mentors, and professionals who care about mental health, community impact, and purpose-driven leadership.
The Foundation Story of Voice Up
Before there was Voice Up, there was Mary Douglass of Hayneville, Alabama, who went to school three months out of the year while white children went nine, and the fields took the rest. With that much schooling, and a determination the fields could not take, she laid a foundation her family is still building on, the foundation that became Voice Up. This is where the story begins.
Uncle Charlie: Strength That Carries a Family
Mary's son, Charlie Mac Douglass Jr., grew up on that same Hayneville foundation and still lives on it today. His story is one of dignity and quiet strength: miles walked to school under segregation, service to his country, decades of teaching, and a family held together by faith. The song "(Be) Your Strong Word" by J Ellington carries his story in this short film.
Why This Work Matters
Purpose is not something reserved for a select few. It is often already inside of you, waiting to be recognized and named.
When people are given the language and the space to explore their experiences safely, they frequently discover that the path toward meaningful work and community impact has been present all along. Voice Up exists to help people discover that path—and to build a global community committed to using their purpose to serve others.
"How can we use our everyday lived experiences to find meaningful careers and become leaders in our communities?"
Five Principles That Guide Everything
These five principles are not just organizational values — they are the lived commitments that shape how Voice Up operates, how mentors engage, and how every participant is welcomed into the community.
All are Welcome
The journey towards purpose begins with others that allow you to be the true you. Together we empower many to join your movement.
We all have much to learn
We can learn and become better with each conversation. Staying open to growth is what keeps the community strong and honest.
All the Details Matter
The steps we overlook may be the ones that make us great. There is power in consistency and attention within a collaborative community.
We All Need Forgiveness
We all make mistakes. The key is to learn from each one and become better. Progress takes time, and every step forward counts.
We Must Understand Your Why
We help you set a goal to connect with new people every week and share the lessons you learn — because understanding each other's story changes everything.
Together We Empower Many
Every week the impact of your idea continues to grow and inspires others towards action.
The Science of Purpose & "The Naming Gap"
Art's ideas are deeply rooted in his family history, which he explores in his book, Fuller Road: The Science of Purpose. They are also grounded in rigorous academic research. Holding a Master's in Education and currently completing a dual-degree doctoral dissertation (Doctor of Health Sciences and Master of Public Health) at a midwestern university, his IRB-approved study examines how African American college students perceive and pursue possible careers in behavioral health — yielding four primary themes and seven cross-theme constructs that converge to reveal the Naming Gap as the central finding.
What is The Naming Gap?
Through 11 semi-structured interviews spanning 10 states, 10 universities, and 11 academic majors (freshman through senior), four primary themes and seven cross-theme constructs converged to reveal a central finding: the Naming Gap — the systematic absence of environmental mechanisms that name, recognize, and translate students' existing behavioral health experiences into visible career pathways. This gap operates across three interconnected environments: home/community, institutional, and organizational. A definitional intervention using the federal definition of behavioral health produced an immediate, uniform interpretive shift in all 11 participants (100%) — not a gradual change, but a catalytic activation of latent career interest. Students already possessed the values, lived experiences, and interpersonal skills aligned with behavioral health careers — they simply lacked the language to name them. The four themes were: (1) Social Identity & Cultural Influences, (2) Perceptions of Behavioral Health, (3) Career Exploration & Decision-Making, and (4) Career Opportunities & Institutional Practices — all converging to demonstrate this is an environmental, not individual-level, phenomenon.
Building Opportunity in Education and Healthcare
Spending his career building educational programs to help students and communities succeed, he founded an award-winning non-profit organization and helped secure more than $50 million dollars to support education and workforce initiatives.
Today, he brings this expertise directly to the healthcare sector as a Healthcare Executive Administrator. By working across schools, nonprofits, government partners, and clinical settings, he has seen firsthand how systems can either help or hinder someone's potential.
The Douglass Fuller Method & Actionable Coursework
To help close the Naming Gap, the Douglass Fuller Method was created. Instead of typical leadership training, this method provides a safe, structured space for people to reflect on their experiences and naturally discover what drives them.
These concepts have been translated into practical, real-world tools. Through Voice Up, 8-week practitioner-scholar courses guide individuals in translating their community and cultural wealth into formal career pathways.
This approach has been successfully used across:
Voice Up's Global Impact
Voice Up is a global community bringing people together to discover their purpose, develop leadership skills, and launch projects that address real community needs. Participants use their newly named purpose to create real-world social impact, launching initiatives ranging from mental health education to community leadership programs.
The data behind Voice Up is no accident. Art's entire career has been focused on elevating youth and teens — from founding an award-winning non-profit serving 940 students, to shaping a $3.79 billion state education funding formula, to building behavioral health systems that serve 13,000 patients across 11 counties. Every number below is built on a lifetime of work dedicated to helping young people name their purpose and step into meaningful careers.
2,941
Participants
900+
Cities Globally
5,385
Verified Events
Current Work in the Global AI Economy
Art's current work is significant in the Global AI economy. As artificial intelligence reshapes every career and industry, he is building purpose-driven tools, media, and learning pathways that keep human purpose — not automation — at the center of how people discover meaningful work, lead, and serve their communities.
Through Voice Up, he is translating lived experience into the very currency the AI economy rewards most: authentic voice, story, and purpose. The Voice Up Media Network, the Your Voice Works platform, and the Applied Purpose Science research program together form a framework that helps people stay irreplaceable in an age of machines — by naming and connecting to what only they can bring to the world.
Purpose-Driven AI Tools
Platforms that help humans name their voice in an automated world.
Media Network for the AI Era
Story-first media reaching 134 countries in its first year.
Applied Purpose Science
Research measuring how purpose drives outcomes machines cannot.
Peer Reviewer for Government Social Impact Grants
Art serves as a peer reviewer for governments as they consider multi-million-dollar social impact grants and awards. Drawing on decades of grant-writing, fiscal leadership, and behavioral health systems experience, he helps public funders decide which initiatives deserve major investment.
His perspective is grounded in practice — he has written and led the very kinds of grants he now reviews, including multi-year Federal CCBHC awards and federal education department funding. That dual experience, as both applicant and reviewer, gives him a rare ability to spot the difference between a proposal that looks strong and one that will actually deliver.
Key Professional & Service Accomplishments
Awards & Recognition
Federal Grants & Fiscal Leadership
Professional Experience
Founder & President
Voice Up Publishing Inc.
November 2024 – Present
- Contracted by a global AI brand as expert consultant in healthcare, mental health, education, business development, career development & career transitions
- Editor in Chief of the 2026 Autobiography for the Cordyn Award Winner (State of Indiana's Highest Public Service Honor) — titanoflife.com
- Secured three multi-year academic credit-bearing partnerships with accredited regional graduate schools of Public Health and Social Work
- Secured an official credit-bearing research partnership with the MPH program at an R1 School of Medicine
- Implemented Voice Up across 250 institutions, including 148 higher education institutions
- Expanded to 25 R1 (Very High Research) universities, 8 R2 universities, and multiple master's institutions
- Achieved implementation within 20 Minority-Serving Institutions including HBCUs, HSIs, and AANAPISIs
- Established international MOU with an international artisan cooperative (2025–2028), supporting 5,000+ women artisans across 22 countries
- Formal international alliance with an indigenous community foundation working with indigenous communities in India
- Designed and serve as official preceptor for a 100% remote internship & mentor model for college students earning academic credit
Chief of CCBHC
A regional behavioral health organization — Terre Haute, IN
July 2023 – Present
- Member of 7-person Executive Leadership team supporting President & CEO, serving 13,000 patients across 11 counties
- C-Suite oversight of 500+ staff and $53M+ operating budget
- Led organization to achieve Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic statewide demonstration status (1 of 8 sites selected)
- Selected by President to serve on the regional grant writing team for the Rural Health Transformation Program, state GROW Initiative, Region Five (~$15M annually)
- Selected as Lead Facilitator for Region 5 Rural Health Transformation Grant Writing Team 2026 ($12M/year, $60M over 5 years)
- Selected as organizational designee for Regional Coalition Committee appointed by the state Department of Health (2026)
- Oversee 6 multi-year contractual and grant agreements totaling over $7M as Principal Investigator & Project Director
- Secured Community Crisis Response Grant from the state Division of Mental Health & Addiction totaling $410K (2023–2027)
- National Panelist for a national mental wellbeing council
- Increased annual patient service by 2,000 unduplicated clients; improved 180-day reassessment follow-up from 46% to 53% across 7,000 patients
- Led committee authoring the new organizational mission statement announced at 2025 Behavioral Health Leadership Awards
Chief Human Services Officer
A regional behavioral health organization
January 2022 – July 2023
- Managed HR department serving 625 FTEs across 11 counties with 8 direct reports
- Led CCBHC implementation as Project Director for $3.99M federal grant
- Secured $4.1M Crisis Stabilization Grant from state Division of Mental Health & Addiction
- Wrote and secured Workforce Innovation Grant from a national mental wellbeing council
Executive Director, Access Services / Corporate Achievement
A regional behavioral health organization
August 2020 – January 2022
- Principal Investigator of $3.97M federal grant for CCBHC startup
- Led successful launch of mobile crisis teams performing over 135 runs
- Selected as national mentor for 3 CCBHCs in Michigan, Illinois, and Oregon
- Managed 14 direct reports and 24/7/365 crisis access center
Chief Executive Officer
Non-Profit Organization — Antioch, TN
April 2011 – April 2019
- Founded and led a non-profit serving 940 students (40% African American, 35% Hispanic, 15% Multiracial/Arabic, 10% Caucasian)
- Grew organization from 0 to 115 FTEs
- Obtained $2M+ in grants from federal education agencies and national foundations
- Led organization to achieve national accreditation
- Achieved state Reward School Status for Top 5% Academic Learning Gains
- Cultivated culture producing a 2017 national educator innovator award winner; educator later founded a nature-based academy, featured in a national business magazine (2026)
- Recognized as having most culturally diverse staff across 113 metro-area public schools
- Selected by state Department of Education as School Reform Provider
Research Associate & Fiscal Budget Officer
State of Tennessee Board of Education
June 2004 – April 2011
- Legislative liaison for governor-appointed board; led executive committees on $3.79B education funding formula
- Developed statewide policy for teacher effectiveness and compensation
- Led first-generation college access outreach programs
- Collaborated with state Higher Education Commission on K-16 public policy
Education
University of Indianapolis
Doctor of Health Sciences / Master of Public Health (ABD)
Anticipated Graduation December 2026 · 71 Hours · 3.75 GPA · IRB Study #02135 approved September 28, 2024
Vanderbilt University
Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership & Policy
45 Hours · 3.74 GPA · 2004–2006
Tennessee State University
Licensure in Administration & Supervision, PreK-12
24 Hours · 4.0 GPA · 2002–2004
Lesley University
M.Ed. in Middle School Mathematics
1995–1996
Wesleyan University
B.A. in Neuroscience & Behavior
1994
Leadership Team
The people working alongside the founder to build Voice Up — each one living the principles they teach.
Student Leadership Team
The students who earned their place on the team through usefulness — and keep showing up.