The Southern Education Leadership Initiative is graciously supported by the Ginny Looney Fellowship Fund. In honor and remembrance of Ginny Looney, the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) established the Ginny Looney Servant Leader Award in 2018 to support and acknowledge young leaders who exude the characteristics of Looney, a long-time Atlanta-based attorney committed to ethics and restoring faith in government. She was often praised for her diligence, sincerity, and her genuine belief in fairness. Given to one outstanding Southern Education Leadership Initiative fellow each summer, this award is an acknowledgment of SEF’s commitment to support young change agents who are most vigorously dedicated to advancing racial equity and creating school systems in the South that give all children the opportunity-rich lives they deserve.

The fellow who receives the Ginny Looney Servant Leader Award will receive an additional stipend at the end of the summer to carry their work forward. The recipient will also designate a donation from the Ginny Looney Fellowship Fund to the southern education effort of their choice that is significantly moving the needle toward equitable education. The Award is designed to provide the winner special recognition for making an important contribution to an advocacy effort and also provide them with an initial experience as a donor supporting the compelling work of others. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please click here.

Hear from the award’s co-founder, Steve Suitts, about the unique and important nature of this award.

This year’s Ginny Looney Servant Leader Award winner is Aja Johnson. In winning the award, Aja was gifted a stipend to help her continue service work in her home community, as we are aware such work isn’t always salaried. Moreover, Aja was able to direct an additional $500 donation from SEF to the non-profit organization of her choice. Aja chose the organization, Reading is Fundamental, and explains, “When we funnel in resources to help students learn to read and learn to love words, we’re opening a door for them that was closed before.”

Aja Johnson is a double alumna of Howard University, where she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (’13) and a Masters of Education (’19) with an emphasis in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She is entering an Ed.D. program this fall at the University of Southern California where she’ll be studying Educational Leadership. As a 2019 Southern Education Leadership Initiative fellow, Aja worked over the summer with the DeSoto, Texas Independent School District (ISD) supporting the district’s efforts to restructure the Student Code of Conduct to advocate for the removal of corporal punishment from the district, to update dress-code policies to make them more equitable and accessible, and to implement a leveled disciplinary guideline that was more restorative than punitive. Disciplinary policies can often be a barrier to student success, trapping some students in a pattern of suspensions that increase the chances of dropout or interaction with the criminal justice system. Ensuring Code of Conduct policies are restorative and equity-focused is vital to student success, particularly for students of color. We applaud Aja and the DeSoto ISD for engaging in this important work.