Jessica Johnson was appointed to the At-Large Seat 9 in January 2023. Jessica is the founder and executive director of The Scholarship Academy, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income, first-generation families create four-year college funding plans. A graduate of Howard University and recipient of over $200,000 in college scholarships, Jessica has spent the past decade serving as a national scholarship expert and the author of "The College Funding Toolkit," a 3-step Guide to Securing Top Scholarship Awards.
Through The Scholarship Academy, Jessica has helped students claim more than $60 million in private scholarships, earning her several national fellowships, including Echoing Green, the Ashoka Changemaker Award, the Points of Light Foundation’s Civic Accelerator, and, most recently, The Roddenberry Fellowship.
Jessica earned her master’s degree in public administration from American University. She has served on the Atlanta Public Schools' Equity Community Advisory Committee, chaired the Fulton Office of Workforce Development’s Youth Council, and was an inaugural member of the Atlanta Youth Commission. Her civic awards include the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Class of 2021 40 Under Forty Award, Ebony Magazine’s Educate Young Minds Award, and Root Magazine’s Top 100 Emerging Leaders.
