// A Marcus Graham Project Initiative _

This is Our House.

Gamma House gives the next generation of creators and entrepreneurs, and the community around them, the tools to turn ideas into real businesses and real careers within marketing, media, and the creator economy.

Discover Our Story  ↓

>> Now · The Roof Is On

Gamma House is the first building the Marcus Graham Project has ever owned. The building is ours and the roof is on. Your gift finishes the inside and opens the door of opportunity for those coming next. fund the build →

Gamma House — 2509 MLK Blvd, Dallas TX
2509 MLK Blvd · Dallas TX
Gamma House living and collaboration space
Vision  Common + Collaboration Space
Gamma House creator workstations
Vision  Creator Workstations
Gamma House product development
Vision  Product Development
Who We Are

The Marcus Graham Project.

Founded in 2007 by Lincoln Stephens and Larry Yarrell, the Marcus Graham Project (MGP) is a national nonprofit that prepares emerging talent — especially those from underrepresented communities — for careers in advertising, marketing, and media. Named for the fictional character from the film Boomerang, MGP has spent nearly two decades proving that talent thrives when learning connects to real work, real mentorship, and real professional standards.

Through the iCR8 Bootcamp, MGP Academy, and a national network of corporate partners, MGP has launched careers across the country. Now, with Gamma House, we're giving that work a permanent home in South Dallas.

19 Years of Impact
Nat'l Corporate Network
2022 Property Acquired
2509 MLK Jr Blvd — Gamma House, South Dallas

Our first home — 2509 MLK Jr Blvd, South Dallas. The first building the Marcus Graham Project has ever owned.

96%
Employed Within 6 Months
of program graduates
86%
Working at Top Agencies
of all MGP alumni
1,200+
Builders Placed
into real careers
19
Years of Impact
transforming careers

Alumni at

Wieden+Kennedy  ·  Apple  ·  72andSunny  ·  Google  ·  Deutsch LA  ·  Fossil

Origin & Purpose

Why GAMMA HOUSE Exists

For nearly two decades, the Marcus Graham Project has expanded access to careers in marketing, media, and advertising by building clear, supported pathways for emerging professionals.

GAMMA HOUSE is the physical extension of that work — a dedicated creator and maker space where emerging and next-generation talent can develop ideas, sharpen craft, and bring creative work to life in the markets where opportunity concentrates.

The Gap We Fill

The marketing, media, and advertising industries are not limited by talent — they are limited by access. Early-career opportunities often concentrate in a small number of major markets. Entry points favor those with existing networks. Ideas with real potential stall without space, tools, or professional proximity to move them forward.

🔑
Access

Lowering barriers between emerging creators and real industry opportunity

🏗️
Infrastructure

Providing the space, tools, and environment needed to turn ideas into execution

🤝
Community

Cultivating peer and mentor networks that accelerate growth and collaboration

📈
Impact

Transforming creative potential into durable career outcomes

Place-Based Development

GAMMA HOUSE is intentionally located on MLK Blvd in 75215 to align with a growing corridor of literacy, mentorship, arts, and workforce investment. As Forest Theater expands cultural programming, Guide Right and Kappa League deepen educational pathways, and DISD strengthens career readiness, GAMMA HOUSE provides the execution layer — professional creative infrastructure that allows emerging talent to apply skills, use modern tools (including AI), and produce real work. This is place-based development that grows people and possibility together.

"South Dallas has the talent. It has the history. It has the energy. What it has been missing is the infrastructure — a permanent, professional space where that talent can become economic force. Gamma House is that space. And we are building it right now, together."

LY
Larry Yarrell
Co-Founder & Chief Development Officer · Marcus Graham Project
Our Philosophy

Two Greek words built this house.

>> Γ · GAMMA   //   οἶκος · OIKOS

Gamma is the stage after beta. Beta is potential — the practice, the someday. Gamma is what comes next: real work, shipped into the real world. Most programs get young people to potential and stop there. We move them to production.

Oikos is the ancient Greek word for house — and the root of the word economy. Economy didn't begin on Wall Street. It began at home: the place where people turn what they have into what they build. Gamma House is that home for South Dallas.

We teach the way we were built — through fraternity. You're not enrolled; you're brought in. Mentored by someone a few steps ahead, and expected to reach back for someone behind you. The network is the curriculum. Belonging is the method. We call it the Pedagogy of Fraternity.

And we didn't land here by accident. Gamma House sits on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd — next door to the Dallas Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, the fraternity of our founders, and on the same street as chapters of Delta Sigma Theta and Omega Psi Phi. Three pillars of the Divine Nine, one corridor of Black excellence. We didn't build near a legacy. We built inside one.

Beta is the promise. Gamma is the proof.
This is the house where South Dallas builds its own.

Who We Serve

The talent is already here.
The infrastructure hasn't been.

75215 — the zip code where Gamma House sits — is one of the most culturally rich and historically significant corridors in Dallas. It is also one of the most underserved. The young people walking MLK Blvd every day have creativity, drive, and potential. What they have lacked is a professional environment to develop it.

26%
Poverty Rate

More than double the DFW metro average of 10.5%

$45K
Median Household Income

About half the DFW metro median of $90,275

17%
Bachelor's Degree or Higher

Compared to 39% across the DFW metro area

73%
High School Grad Rate

14 points below the regional rate of 87.6%

Schools in the Gamma House footprint

James Madison High School

Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet High School

Billy Earl Dade Middle School

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Arts Academy

St. Philip's School & Community Center

The King's Academy

These students walk past 2509 MLK Blvd. Gamma House gives them somewhere to walk into.

The Adjacent Zips Tell the Same Story

75210, 75215, and 75216 are consistently among the lowest-income zip codes in Dallas — a corridor where economic mobility has stalled not from lack of will, but from lack of infrastructure. The creative economy offers a real pathway out. Gamma House is how we open that door.

Youth as Builders, Not Just Beneficiaries

Gamma House doesn't treat South Dallas youth as a population to be served — it treats them as the next generation of creative professionals to be developed. Every apprenticeship, every client project, every portfolio piece is economic participation, not charity.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates · Census Reporter · ZIP Code 75215

The Moment Is Now

Why This Matters Right Now

We are at a pivotal moment in the creative economy. Demand for creators who can think strategically, produce at speed, and adapt to new tools is accelerating — while the infrastructure that helps emerging talent move from potential to professional execution has not kept pace.

The Shift

AI Changed the Baseline

AI is now standard across how creative work gets made — ideation, design, editing, distribution. The creators who'll define the next decade pair creative instinct with fluency in these tools, not just the concepts.

The Gap

Tools Don't Trickle Down

Professional-grade tools, mentorship, and real project experience rarely reach communities like 75215 — and as technology outpaces traditional training, that gap widens. Hands-on beats the classroom every time. Gamma House closes the distance.

Market Relevance

Brands Need What South Dallas Youth Can Build

Brands and organizations need creators who can work at the intersection of culture, technology, and storytelling. GAMMA HOUSE prepares creators to meet this demand — teaching them to use modern tools, AI included, to turn ideas into real, market-ready output. The skills gap is the business opportunity. Gamma House is the bridge.

Inside Gamma House

Five spaces. One mission.

Every room in this building is designed around a specific outcome — not inspiration, but execution. Here's what opens when the doors do.

What We're Building

From Beta to Gamma.

In product development, beta is testing. Gamma is what comes after — execution, delivery, real impact. Here is what Gamma House delivers when the doors open.

BEYOND BETA.

BETA Preparation / Development
→
GAMMA Execution / Impact
01

Paid Apprenticeships

Marketing and media apprentices earning wages while working on real projects for real clients.

02

Small Business Support

South Dallas SMBs get professional branding, content, and campaign support from MGP's creative lab.

03

AI + Creator Skills

The next generation learns to produce with modern tools — AI-enabled content, digital campaigns, and social commerce.

04

The Model Scales

Once activated in Dallas, the Gamma House model is built to replicate in cities across the country.

Voices from the Network

Real people. Real careers.

MGP graduates don't just get jobs — they build careers at the world's most influential companies. Gamma House is where the next wave gets built.

"MGP gave me the foundation to compete at the highest level. Gamma House is where preparation meets opportunity."

RS
Rashad Simpson
Washington Wizards

"Having a home, a community, and mentors who believed in me — that changed everything about my trajectory."

TJ
Ty Jenkins
Deutsch LA

"Living proof of what happens when preparation and opportunity collide. The Marcus Graham Project made it possible."

CH
Cory Hicks
Sports Marketing Professional

"We're not just training marketers. We're building a movement — one that reshapes who gets to tell stories, build brands, and shape culture."

LS
Lincoln Stephens
Co-Founder & CEO, Marcus Graham Project
Join Us

Get Involved. Stay Connected.

2509 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas TX 75215
There's more than one way to build with us — become a founding builder, offer in-kind support, open a door with an introduction, or simply stay connected. Tell us how you'd like to plug in.

How do you want to plug in? * (Select all that apply)
We'll follow up personally about the best way for you to plug in.
Your info will never be shared or sold.

You're in. Gamma is next.

We'll be in touch about how you can get involved. Thank you for showing up for South Dallas.