The John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award will go to Lecester Johnson, executive director of the Academy of Hope, the university announced on Monday.
Johnson will be officially awarded Jan. 20 at Georgetown’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The award, named for Georgetown’s former men’s basketball coach, celebrates local emerging D.C. leaders who embody the values of Martin Luther King Jr. and the university.
“It’s a privilege to recognize Johnson for her outstanding work,” University President John J. DeGioia said in a statement. “She embodies the very spirit of service and a commitment to social and economic justice, which we seek to honor with this award, and which defines our tradition here at Georgetown.”
According to Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Strategic Initiatives Lauralyn Lee, the Office of Community Engagement compiled recommendations for the award from Georgetown staff and D.C. community members. DeGioia made the final decision based on these recommendations.
“Starting last year, as part of the university’s efforts to refocus on the District, we thought it would be advantageous for the award and for the awardee if we gave the award to someone who identified as an emerging leader, who was doing work that was particularly meaningful to our local community and that was having demonstrated impact,” Lee said.
The award involves a year of community partnership between the organization and the university.
“Georgetown will be instrumental in helping us think about our long-term business strategy and how we position ourselves as adult literacy providers in the city,” Johnson said. “We’re hoping to do a lot more around advocacy and the body of knowledge about how you work best with adult learners … and we’re looking forward to working with Georgetown on that.”
Through its work, the Academy of Hope aims to increase adult literacy levels in the District and help adults earn high school diplomas before entering the workforce or higher education.
Johnson has worked at the Academy of Hope since 2006.
“I really came in with a passion for adult literacy and saw that Academy of Hope had a really good reputation and had a strong program going but really just needed a little extra work in letting the world know that we were here and doing some good work,” Johnson said. “We were really starting to move programs closer to helping adults get prepared for not only the GED but also work and secondary education.”
The Academy of Hope will transition away from nonprofit work by fall 2014.
“The transition to a charter school was a major necessity for us because the funding for adult literacy in D.C. and in this country is wholly inadequate,” Johnson said. “Going out to a charter was probably one of the easier ways for us to really change our business model from running off soft money to really going to a dependable source of funding for our core program.”
For Johnson, the Academy’s students have been the most rewarding part of her experience.
“The most valuable thing is seeing people achieve something that just seemed unachievable for them,” Johnson said. “Many of the adults that we’re working with have just gone through a rough time. … They’re beginning to blossom and go on to bigger and greater things.”