Born in 1953, Colvin W. Grannum was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he studied at P.S. 130 Elementary and Erasmus Hall High School, and attended the Beulah Church of the Nazarene. He majored in religion at the University of Pennsylvania, received a law degree from Georgetown University, and subsequently practiced law for over seventeen years. After serving as the president of Bridge Street Community Development Corporation, Grannum was brought on as the president of Restoration. At the time of the 2008 interview, Grannum had held that position for over five years.