Steven Bullock was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, the grandson of a former slave. He was the CEO of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross from 1982 and was named acting president of the national agency for 1999. He also served on a number of boards of directors, including the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, the Cleveland Campaign, and Leadership Cleveland. In 2001, Bullock founded the Bullock Group, a management consulting company for non-profit and public institutions.