Over the Thanksgiving break, he took seven of his cohort to Cuba for a cultural immersion, beach clean-up, and of course, delivering skateboard components to the skater kids of Cuba.

“My classmates were thrilled to have the opportunity to volunteer with Cuba Skate and to travel to Cuba – a place few other Americans have ever been. I think it’s profoundly important for them to see life on the island, to dispel myths and stereotypes about our closest Caribbean neighbor, and to activate their networks to support the programs we’ve established on the ground.”

Jackson grew up in Washington DC and studied American Culture and Spanish at the University of Michigan and imagined he might become a librarian or an archivist. An avid soccer player, an injury sidelined him, and as he recovered from surgery, he turned to skateboarding as a way to get back outside and moving.

He had no idea that the three-months he spent studying in Cuba during his senior year would be the start of a passion-project that would bind him to the country well into his 30s.

There were no skate shops in Cuba. Young enthusiasts couldn’t simply go out and buy a new board or skate shoes. Nevertheless they created unique workarounds to keep their boards in working order and shared their resources with each other.

“I returned home and couldn’t stop thinking about the kids I met there and their passion for skateboarding,” he recalled. “In Cuba, there’s a saying, ‘do more with less,” and these kids certainly did that. As an American, it was humbling—and inspiring.” At 25 he quit his government job in health and human services to pursue his mission via Cuba Skate full time.

In the 10 years since incorporating as a 501(c3) nonprofit, Cuba Skate has worked with more than 450 volunteers from 25 countries. It’s been endorsed by more than 200 professional skateboarders, and pretty much every skate shop approached volunteers to donate equipment, said Jackson. Cuba Skate has brought over and donated more than 15,000 pairs of shoes, 9,500 skate decks and 17,500 articles of clothing to Cuba, all of it taken piecemeal in luggage since importing is not allowed under current American trade restrictions with Cuba (the nonprofit operates in compliance with the American and Cuban governments and maintains unique permissions with the U.S. State Department to fund and operate as a humanitarian program in Cuba, according to Jackson.)

It has also expanded its mission to include beach and river cleanups, harvesting the collected plastics and remolding them into “eco-madera” (recycled plastic lumbers) which become benches and tables—that are 100 percent skateable—for the skatepark the community is building with permission in an abandoned site.

Jackson hopes the business skills he learns at Marshall will help him grow the mission of Cuba Skate because there is nothing less than peace at hand. “Nelson Mandela said that sports has the power to change the world,” said Jackson. “He said it has the power to unite people and speaks to the youth in a language they understand.

“This is at the heart of what Cuba Skate is working for,” he said.

Learn more about Cuba Skate at their WEBSITE or watch the DC SHOES: CUBA SKATE short documentary.