Lawrence Ross

Lawrence Ross was born on February 20, 1966 in Los Angeles, California. He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and then University of California, Berkeley and UCLA, where he earned a degree in History. Ross worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Independent Newspaper and was appointed managing editor of Rap Sheet magazine, hip hop's first West Coast magazine.

In 1997, Ross, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity began writing "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities". The Divine Nine was the first book written that covered the members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). The book has appeared on the bestseller lists of the Los Angeles Times, , and Blackboard magazine. As a result of Ross' Divine Nine, he was also in tremendous demand on campus lecture circuit. In the past six years, Ross has lectured at over 300 colleges and universities on the topics of the NPHC, hazing, and how black fraternity and sorority members can fulfill their promise.

In 2001, Ross' second book, "The Ways of Black Folks: A Year in the Life of a People", was published. In it, Ross chronicles the stories of black people from throughout the African Diaspora. It was selected as a Fall Must Read by the National Association of Black Journalists.

In 2005, Ross' third book and fiction debut, "Friends With Benefits" was published. Friends With Benefits was chosen as a main selection by Doubleday's Black Expressions Book Club.

In October 2007, his fourth book, "Skin Game" was published by Kensington Books. In September 2007, his fifth book, "Money Shot: The Wild Nights and Lonely Days in Black Porn" was published by Thunder's Mouth.

Ross has appeared as a guest on television shows such as National Public Radio and Good Morning Atlanta. He has been interviewed in , Savoy, Essence and Newsweek magazines, and the Los Angeles Times, Africana.com, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16583100/site/newsweek/] and The Times.

Ross has a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television in screen writing. He is also the CEO of brandGREEK, a service that matches fraternity/sorority chapters with corporate sponsors. It debuts in June 2008. [http://www.brandgreek.com brandGREEK]

External links

* [http://www.lross.net/ Lawrence Ross's website]