Meet the Executive Director
INSTRUCTOR RA FRYE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
In 1993, amid Denver’s infamous “Summer of Violence,” I was 28, when I experienced an awakening, inspiring me to “stop the violence” between warring Crip and Blood gangs. Gang truces and realizing the vision of impactful gang Passages became my purpose and passion.
Ra Frye was born in South Chicago to a fifteen-year-old mother, in 1980, recognizing the Path her teenage was gravitating towards, and engaging in the Roseland community (drugs, gangs, crime, violence, incarceration, and even death), Ra’s mother made the pivotal decision to send him to a safer environment in Denver Colorado with family.
In Denver, Ra flourished—transforming from a struggling student into an Honor Roll athlete with college scholarship offers. But after high school, a sports injury, lack of mentorship, and the pull of young love led him to forgo college. He began working as a concrete laborer and launched his own contracting company, securing large-scale city projects by the age of nineteen.
But when work slowed and pressure mounted, Ra fell back into street life—robbery, drug sales, and addiction. Facing a 30-year sentence, he was instead ordered into drug treatment and community service at a juvenile boys’ home. That experience, combined with fatherhood, became the turning point of his life.
In 1993, during Denver’s infamous “Summer of Violence,” Ra had a spiritual awakening and launched Passages—a nonprofit that facilitated truce-building between rival gang members. The work helped humanize enemies, resulting in a ceasefire involving nearly half of Denver’s gang population. His company also funded the restoration of city playgrounds and started Cultural Corner classes for local youth.
The success brought danger—threats, opposition from authorities, and violent resistance from those profiting off street violence. Ra eventually stepped away to focus on his family, homeschooling his five children and studying Montessori education.
After a period of deep personal loss, Ra sought therapy and was diagnosed with PTSD. He spent the next five years healing—training in Kenpo martial arts, Egyptian yoga, and writing Breeding Children: The Science of Imprints.
In 2016, he returned to Chicago to bring Passages home. He founded Pride ROC in Englewood in 2017, facilitating 47 peace-building Passages to date. Now, Ra is raising funds for Pride ROC’s first rural healing compound, dedicated to year-round transformation through purpose, peace, and connection.