Tavis has authored several books, including Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing and Hope from Black America, ISBN: 0385505140; How to Make Black America Better, ISBN: 0385502141; Doing What's Right: How to Fight for What You Believe--And Make a Difference, ISBN: 0385499310; Empowerment Cards, ISBN: 1401901271. He is also the publisher of The Smiley Report newsletter. Tavis is the founder of the Tavis Smiley Foundation, a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to encourage, empower, and enlighten black youth. Youth to Leaders (Y2L), the cornerstone program of the Foundation, is an annual series of one-day leadership-building conferences that takes place in cities across the U.S. Tavis Smiley Presents, a subsidiary of The Smiley Group, Inc., was created to bring ideas and people together through symposiums, seminars, forums, and townhall meetings.One of ten children, Tavis is single and lives in Los Angeles. In his spare time, he enjoys a good game of Scrabble with friends.