Elycia Cook: A Life of Resilience, Leadership, and Transformation

Elycia Cook’s story is one of triumph over adversity, and a testament to the importance of mentorship. It’s a call to action for those who believe in the power of human connection.

Emerging as an emblematic trailblazer after experiencing hardship in her childhood, her journey of fearless leadership is marked by a lifetime of achievement. Today, as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado (BBBSC), she is magnifying mentorship on a national scale. 

Hardship and Hard Work

Born in the impoverished Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, Cook’s early years were filled with challenges. 

“My parents only had an 8th or 9th grade education. My mom was a single mom of three girls by the time she was 20 years old,” she remembers. “A lot happened to me as a child.” 

For years, she was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her stepfather. When she reported the harrowing truth to her mother, she was met with accusations instead of protection. So, at 17, she moved into her grandmother’s home. 

Relieved to have escaped, she was met with difficulties; her personal belongings were constantly stolen by a drug-addicted live-in uncle, and she was forced to endure the presence of her abuser at family functions. 

In the midst of her struggles, a light appeared. 

The Makings of a Mentor

Dr. Vivian Carpenter, a professor at Wayne State University, recognized Cook’s potential and urged her to apply for a Japanese immersion program. Still doubtful, the impressionable college student was tempted to back out of the program until Dr. Carpenter introduced her to Susan L. Taylor, the renowned former editor-in-chief at Essence Magazine. 

At Taylor’s advice, she embarked on a trip that would change her outlook on life. 

In Japan, she reflected on events that took place early in her life, confronting her past with a letter to her mother as the beginning of her healing.

Later, she joined a church that helped guide her through even deeper healing, with a series called “Wounded Heart” where she connected with other survivors of abuse. 

The experience became a cornerstone of the empathy-driven leadership at the foundation of her own mentorship. 

Becoming What She Needed

While living in Japan, Cook had the opportunity to pay Taylor’s mentorship forward, becoming a mentor to someone else for the first time. 

Though she excelled in a sales career, she made a decision that changed her trajectory and set her on the path to greatness. 

“I thought, ‘If I never sell another widget or gidget again in my life, I’m okay. I want to use my skills and talents to become the person I needed most as a child, and make sure that others do too.” 

She knew that mentorship would allow her to help young people in need of additional support.

“These parents are doing the best they can,” she says, reflecting on her own upbringing. “Now that I’m older, I know that my mom did the best she could with what she had; and she had so much trauma in her life.” 

At its core, she saw mentorship as a tool for those who otherwise might not get to enjoy their childhood. 

FRIENDS FIRST

Cook dedicated over a decade of her career to FRIENDS FIRST, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to serve students, parents and communities.

Under her leadership, the organization’s Students Teaching About Relationships and Success (STARS) program became a gold-standard peer mentoring model, impacting thousands of students nationwide. Remarkably, a partnership between STARS and Taylor’s National CARES Mentoring Movement is her way of paying Taylor’s early encouragement back, ensuring that young people who feel unseen and unheard always have someone to turn to. 

Breaking Barriers at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado

In January 2020, Cook was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Mentoring Partnership in Washington D.C.. Former U.S. President Barack Obama even sent a message congratulating the compassionate changemaker. 

When the coronavirus pandemic forced a global shutdown just a few months later, the need for mentorship skyrocketed, forcing her to once again consider her role as a mentor. 

She thought, “If I really want to have a big impact in mentoring, I can’t do it at a relatively small organization. I had to go to the big boys – if you will – of the mentoring field.” 

When BBBSC made its first recruitment attempt, Cook was hesitant, noting the organization’s lack of diversity and community engagement. Yet, all of the reasons for her initial uncertainty were ultimately the reasons she later felt compelled to accept the job offer. 

Immediately, she knew major changes were needed to transform the organization’s model into something with more relevance. 

“Our basic one-on-one community mentoring model that we’d been doing for over 100 years was declining. It was right after George Floyd and all of that, and it was right after a Bridgespan report that said nonprofits led by CEOs of color raise less money and have less trust,” she recalls. 

“All of us were being called to a higher level of accountability,” Cook says. “I brought up the idea, ‘We have to go to where the kids are, and where schools are suffering. And, by the way, I know this great program that’s looking to be acquired.” 

In a stunning turn of events, BBBSC acquired FRIENDS FIRST in 2022. 

“Now (in my opinion) we have the best one-on-one mentoring program out there, and we have the best peer and school-based mentoring programs out there.” 

Making History 

Though there is no data showing that the color of a “Big” defines how good the relationship between “Bigs” (mentors) and “Littles” (mentees) is, Cook took the reins at BBBSC with every intention of leaning into justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Under her guidance, the organization’s revitalized programming reaches the young people who need mentorship most, and its mentorship model is more culturally competent than ever before. 

BBBSC has received national recognition for exceeding match growth expectations and ensuring that the organization’s culture reflects its values. During covid-era social justice protests, Cook’s team created a group called Black Mentors United to help young men navigate the racially-charged time through representation. 

“It was beautiful,” she remarks. 

Over time, diversity has increased among the staff and executive board of directors, facilities have been made more accessible and wages have been equalized.

Cook has positively impacted countless lives as a result of mentorship she received in her youth. She shares her colorful story as a reminder that there is healing on the other side of trauma, and joy on the other side of pain. 

 With no plans of slowing down, her impact – and her journey – are far from over. 


Stephanie McCoy-Johnson: A Story of Reinvention and Revival

At four years old, Stephanie McCoy-Johnson’s earliest memory was formed. Observing photographs of her sister displayed throughout their home, the delicate young girl approached her mother and asked why she didn’t see any photos of her own. 

Her mother’s reply induced pain and trauma that she would spend decades trying to heal from: “Because you were an ugly baby.” 

The remainder of her childhood was filled with turmoil, emotional suffering and ultimately, the decades-long severance of her relationship with her mother.

“That was the core of my trauma,” she said during a 2020 interview. “That dictated everything I did in life thereafter.” 

The experience set the stage for her substance misuse. Her determination and hard work led her out of darkness into the light, and into a life of helping others. 

The Great Reinvention

Five years ago, McCoy-Johnson expressed her desire to have her own private counseling practice as she worked toward a master’s degree in couples and family therapy at the University of Colorado Denver. 

Today, she is living proof that hard work pays off in remarkable ways. She graduated with her master’s degree as planned, and in addition to working at a private practice part-time, she recently celebrated a one-year anniversary as the associate director of behavioral health services at an organization called Second Chance Center (SCC). 

“The last five years have been blessed,” she reveals. “I cannot complain.” 

Nearly 30 years have passed since McCoy-Johnson made her first attempt at reinvention – she was living in Memphis, Tennessee, enjoying sobriety for the first time after battling addictions to cocaine and alcohol. Her recovery spanned nine impressive years. 

“A month after I celebrated my sobriety birthday, I relapsed,” she recalls. 

Researchers estimate that 40% to 60% of people experiencing substance misuse relapse annually. For McCoy-Johnson, the trigger that led to her relapse was connected to the wound caused by early childhood memories. She found out that her estranged mother was communicating to other family members while not speaking to her at all. 

“It hit me like a ton of bricks emotionally,” she says, not understanding why the work she’d done to heal from her childhood trauma was so quickly undone. 

Two years later, she attempted recovery again at an evidence-based, gender-specific program in Fort Logan, Colorado. The program offered a two-year residency, facilitated by the University of Colorado’s Addiction Resources & Treatment Services (ARTS). It helped her see the truth about her tragic childhood, and eventually recreate herself without trauma at the core. 

“My childhood is what happened to me, but it doesn’t define who I am,” she shares.  

A Path Forward

The achievement of completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees led to a tremendous expansion of McCoy-Johnson’s career path. 

In her previous position as an addictions counselor and trauma therapist for the Community Alcohol, Drug, Rehabilitation & Education Center (CADREC), she provided basic substance misuse treatment services to adults, youth and families in Denver’s historic Five Points district and Cole neighborhoods. 

She was able to make an impact, but with the short window of opportunity the program offered, her efforts were limited to harm-reduction instead of the lasting and sustainable impact she envisioned. 

Now, at SCC, she has the ability to help formerly incarcerated individuals become reintegrated into society while addressing mental health and substance misuse. Each day, she helps participants increase their quality of life. 

A Second Chance at Life

SCC’s service offerings are expansive and comprehensive, with wrap-around solutions to improve lives and lower barriers to change for those in need. 

The 13-year old organization has locations around the Metro Denver area, including a location directly across from the Denver City Jail in Downtown Denver. It collaborates with the City of Denver to operate halfway houses, in addition to providing housing and services for chronically unhoused individuals. 

SCC also provides case management and behavioural health services, parenting classes, employment labs and trauma resources while boasting a very low rate of relapse and recidivism. 

“Because of that, we collaborate a lot with Governor Jared Polis and city leadership,” says McCoy-Johnson, adding that the center’s blueprint is centered around its successful partnership model. 

“We employ those who have lived experience – the beauty is that clients are client-partners. It’s really a collaboration. The client-partners appreciate that, because their voices are being heard. That means a lot, especially for someone who may have gone through their whole life without ever having a voice.” 

The organization’s innovative approach to healing involves a high level of intentionality for every aspect of its programs – even down to the words used to define its services. 

“We don’t say addiction,” she points out. “We say ‘misuse.’” 

Explaining that stigma can present a barrier for people wanting to change their lives, she says that “misuse” is easier for a client to accept than “addiction,” which suggests shame or guilt. 

“Mental health concern,” is another phrase used by SCC’s staff. “There are people diagnosed with mental health concerns that think, ‘I’m never going to be able to change that, or I’m always going to have this issue.” 

SCC provides a second chance – or as many chances as a client-partner needs – for recovery. “Substance misuse” and “mental health concerns” are palateable, and for those looking to overcome challenges, the verbiage alone is empowering. 

More Milestones Ahead

McCoy-Johnson has accomplished an enormous amount of good.

Now that her master’s degree is complete and she’s progressed to a role that feeds her spirit and desire to help others, her mentors and professors are encouraging her to continue her studies. A doctorate degree would open more doors in the future, but for now, the hard-working hero admits that she needs a break, adding that she never does anything without the guidance of God. 

She remains steadfast in her commitment to advancement while completing the hours needed for licensure in marriage and family therapy and working towards a certification in play therapy. 

Her work is more than a profession – it’s a calling. 

“This work that I do is my ministry. I don’t look at it as a job; I don’t even look at it as work,” she says. “I feel that, because of my own recovery journey and my own trauma journey, this is why I experienced the things I experienced – to bring me into this ministry.”

Editor’s note: These stories and others will be shared at Denver Urban Spectrum’s Colorful Stories: See Me, Hear Me luncheon on May 30, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Noor Event Center, 13250 E. Mississippi Ave in Aurora. For more information, sponsorship opportunities or tickets, call 303-292-6446 or email publisher@urbanspectrum.net or visit https://tix.denverurbanspectrum.com.