You may have seen him featured in the award-winning 2010 documentary "Waiting for Superman" or read about him in the New York Times; Geoffrey Canada, educator and social activist, will speak at Haverford College on Friday, Feb. 4 about the challenges facing the American education system.

For the last two decades Canada has been at the forefront of what the New York Times Magazine called "one of the biggest social experiments of our time," in a 2004 profile story. Canada is the president of Harlem Children's Zone, a non-profit organization that actively seeks to reverse the cycle of poverty and educational deficiency for children in a targeted section of Harlem, NY.

Canada's organization focuses on meeting the holistic needs of children in the community—tackling social, economic and educational issues head on to enable student learning. Through a mix of social programs and high-performing charter schools, the Harlem's Children Zone has been heralded for its success in an area that has historically been underperforming.

At Haverford College, Canada will give a 45-minute lecture followed by a 45 minutes question and answer session with the audience. Afterward, there will be a book signing—Canada has authored two books, Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America and Reaching Up For Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America. He is also the subject of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough.

The event is free and open to public. It will be held at Roberts Hall in the Marshall Auditorium on Haverford's campus, and the lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. Parking is available in the school's south lot near the athletic complex.

For more information on the event, see the Haverford College website's calendar of events.