Crispin Booker '08

Member of Adelphi University’s 10 Under 10

Founder and Executive Director of Veronica’s Way
Independent Contractor in the Healthcare IT Industry

As the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Veronica’s Way, Crispin Booker ’08 is able to live out his passion for serving others.

Booker explained that his life has been shaped by service because of his grandmother’s influence. “My beloved grandmother, Veronica L. Paul, a retired school teacher from Grenada, West Indies, developed a committed practice and passion for feeding the homeless due to severe economic hardships in her home country,” he said. “She made it her life’s mission to provide resources to those in need and, when she migrated to the United States in 1979, this passion did not falter. She used every opportunity and resource that she had to seek support for families in need.”

When Booker, a Brooklyn native, came to Adelphi to pursue a degree in computer and management information systems, he also found avenues in which he could help others. “I was a proud member of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated, a community-based organization where I was provided many opportunities to grow as a leader,” he said. “Through various outreach projects I was able to serve my community and exercise brotherhood.”

His personal and educational backgrounds equipped him with the knowledge, skills, and experience he needed to create Veronica’s Way, the non-profit organization he started in 2016 after his grandmother’s passing to honor her memory. “Our mission is to offer three pillars of service to the community: technological literacy, hunger elimination, and educational support,” he said.
Since its establishment, Veronica’s Way has sponsored events to feed families. “We have hosted two candlelight dinners in Brooklyn, feeding over 400 people, providing 400 toys and 350 comforters for families in a shelter,” said Booker.

Through the organization’s most recent endeavor, 38 computers were donated to a school system in Grenada and four computers and printers to an after-school program in Brooklyn. “As an IT professional with 10 years of experience, I understand the importance of ensuring technological literacy for students today,” explained Booker. “Unfortunately, due to a lack of economic resources in lower-income communities—locally and abroad—there is a severe deficiency among youth in basic computer skills. Introducing computers and the internet into these classrooms will enhance students’ educational experiences and expose them to information and ideas that will increase their capacity for learning and development. This will allow them to be able to compete in this global and technological society.”

The non-profit’s next stop is Clarendon, Jamaica, where Veronica’s Way will build six computer labs holding approximately 80 computers. “Our mission is to enhance and empower the lives of people in the global community by expressing acts of love through service,” he said.

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