Hailing from Aiken, SC, Dr. Gwendolyn Johnson spent forty-five years in education, teaching everyone from public school kindergarteners to graduate students at the University of South Carolina. Among her many accolades, she was the 2014 recipient of the Pickens-Salley Southern Woman of Distinction Award in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
As an advocate for her community, she has participated in environmental research, implemented grants for underprivileged students, and was a co-founder of the African American Community Achievement Network. She also launched her own consulting company, Unleashing Potential (UP), to help adolescents and young adults pursue their God-given purpose—including participants in JUMPSTART’s prison program.
“Prisons are filled with people harboring great potential given by our Great Creator, God. It brings great joy to be a part of a mission like JUMPSTART that awakens the Holy Spirit in each of us (inmates and volunteers) as Jesus reveals the way, the truth, and the life.”
Dr. Johnson’s faith has also inspired her to take part in JUMPSTART’s programs by volunteering at the Trenton and Allendale Correctional Institutions. The rest of her time is spent with her family, especially her four grandchildren, serving at her church, and enjoying her many hobbies.
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