Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award
The Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award honors AASA members who have advanced the status of women and minorities in education.
Honorees have exemplified leadership in educational equity.
Dr. Jones was a school administrator, teacher, counselor, organizer of the Office of Minority Affairs at AASA and a champion of women and minorities in educational leadership. Equity and opportunity were the hallmark of her life work and closing the academic, health and social gap between the children who have and those who don’t was one of the cardinal intents of her rigorous efforts to increase the numbers of women and minority school system leaders.
She created both a space where minority and women educators could be nurtured, supported, mentored, challenged and where the differing needs of children could be addressed. Because of her commitment to equity and excellence, the field of school leadership is richer, more complex, and more accessible to a wide range of qualified educators and AASA’s focus on vulnerable children and youth is sharp and unrelenting.
The award is open to any current AASA member who meets the criteria.
Applicants must demonstrate commitment to the advancement and mentorship of women and minorities in positions of leadership and/or to address social justice issues among children, youth and adults in schools.
Each candidate is judged on the following criteria:
Equity
- Organizes and facilitates networks and enterprises to ensure equity and access for women and people of color in education or on behalf of disadvantaged children
- Demonstrates courageous leadership in addressing social justice issues among children and adults with unwavering persistence
Support
- Provides leadership development through coaching, mentoring, modeling and networking
- Promotes innovative structures to achieve goals of equity and excellence
Mentoring
- Shares generously of own knowledge, skills and resources to promote women and people of color in education and to address equity issues among children
Results
- Assists in the successful advancement of women and people of color in education and/or in addressing the achievement gap among children
Any individual may nominate another individual for this award assuming the nominee meets the criteria in the eligibility section.
Self-nominations are not accepted.
Nominations are due October 31, 2023 via the online nomination form.
What needs to be included on the nomination form?
- Basic nominee and nominator contact information
- Explanations and examples of how the nominee meets each of the eligibility criteria within the areas of equity, support, mentoring and results
- Three (3) letters of support
All nominations are reviewed and judged by an independent committee external to AASA.
This award is presented annually at the AASA National Conference on Education.
Honorees must be present at the ceremony.
Congratulations to the 2023
Effie H. Jones Humanatarian award Winners
Avis Williams
Superintendent, NOLA Public Schools (La.)
In March 2022, Dr. Avis Williams was selected to serve as superintendent of the NOLA Public Schools in New Orleans. She is the first woman to be permanently appointed to this role. Her core values are Equity, Excellence and Joy and she is known for her ability to drive innovation while improving organizational culture and climate. An award-winning educator and sought-after speaker, she is a native of Salisbury, NC. A product of poverty, Williams dreamed of being a teacher from an early age. As a first generation 4-year college student, she followed the path of her older siblings and joined the Army right after high school.
After four years in the Army, she worked fulltime as a personal trainer while putting herself through community college and earned her undergraduate degree from Athens State University. She went on to earn a master’s degrees from Alabama A&M and Jacksonville State Universities, education specialist degree and her doctorate from the University of Alabama. Dr. Williams has taught English, Physical Education, coached dance team and track, served as an elementary, middle and high school principal. She is a member of Chiefs for Change and has completed the AASA Urban Superintendents Academy (USC, Cohort 4) and the National Superintendents Certification Program.
Prior to her historic appointment to lead NOLA Public Schools, Dr. Williams served as superintendent of Historic Selma City Schools in Selma, AL for five years where she championed equity by prioritizing mental health and establishing a Social Justice Academy. She is the immediate past board president of ASCD, a board member for Foundations, Inc. and has been recognized nationally for her innovative leadership. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and of the Pontchartrain Chapter of the Links, Inc. Her joy comes from spending time with her daughter Bree, running, writing and being a “dog mom” to her standard poodles, CoCo and Butterscotch. Never forgetting her roots, Dr. Williams enjoys giving back to her community and working with families in need.
Brenda Elliott
Chief, Office of School Improvements and Supports, District of Columbia Public Schools (D.C.)
Elliott has almost 30 years of experience as a public-school educator and has been working to address racialized gaps in student outcomes from day one. She has been recognized for closing racial achievement gaps as a principal, as well as implementing district-wide programs to address the school-to-prison pipeline.
In 2017, Dr. Elliott was hired as the District of Columbia Public School’s first Chief of Equity. During her tenure in DCPS, Dr. Elliott has led the development of the district’s equity framework and created the infrastructure to provide equity training for more than 3000 DCPS employees. Dr. Elliott also oversaw the launch of Adelante - the district’s first Latino/Latinx Leadership Summit and the establishment of Anti-Racist Educator University (ARE-U), to build staff capacity to address systemic racism and create culturally affirming and responsive learning environments.
Elliott is working nationally to build and connect with equity leaders and to support women and people of color. She is a graduate of DC’s Seeding Disruptions’ Equity Fellowship and Leading4Equity’s Women’s Superintendent Policy Leadership Program. Dr. Elliott was an inaugural member of AASA’s Equity Cohort, which published a case study based on the tremendous equity work she is leading in DCPS. Her dissertation, “District-Level Equity Leaders’ Approaches to Addressing to Racial Achievement Gap Between Black and White Students in Urban Public Schools” addressed a gap in research regarding the role, experiences, and impact of equity leaders in school districts. For this work, she was awarded the Surratt Outstanding Doctoral Student Award from High Point University’s Stout School of Education. Dr. Elliott currently serves as an adjunct professor in American University’s Antiracist Administration, Supervision and Leadership (ARASL) graduate certificate program and is helping to support our next generation of antiracist educational leader.
Past Honorees
2022:
- Sharon Adams-Taylor, former AASA associate executive director
- Luvelle Brown, superintendent, Ithaca City School District (N.Y.)
2021:
- Lillie Cox, executive director, North Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NCASCD), Charlotte, N.C.; executive director, Piedmont Triad Education Consortium (PTEC)
- Baron Davis, superintendent, Richland School District Two, Columbia, S.C.
- Lillian Torrez, superintendent, Taos Municipal School District, Taos, N.M.
2020:
- Steven T. Webb, superintendent, Vancouver Public Schools, Wash.
- Joe A. Hairston, former associate professor at Howard University and co-founder of the AASA/Howard University Urban Superintendents Academy
2019:
- Wanda Cook-Robinson, superintendent, Oakland Schools, Waterford, Mich.
- Traci Davis, superintendent, Washoe County School District, Reno, Nev.
- Karl V. Hertz, retired superintendent, Mequon-Thiensville School District, Mequon, Wis.; AASA president, 1997-98
2018:
- Martha James-Hassan, school board commissioner, Baltimore City Public Schools and an assistant professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md.
- Dennis O’Hara, superintendent, Hauppauge Public Schools, Hauppauge, N.Y.
- Valeria S. Silva, educational consultant and former superintendent, St. Paul Schools, St. Paul, Minn.
2017:
- John B. King Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Education
2016:
- Elizabeth Ann Sanders
2015:
- LaRuth Gray, retired superintendent, Westchester County, N.Y. and Scholar in Residence at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools
2014:
- Margaret Grogan, professor of education in the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California
- Caroline Hunter, former chemist and a retired school administrator in Cambridge, Mass.
- José Torres, superintendent, Elgin U-46 School District (ill.)
2013:
- Concetta Raimondi, superintendent, Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, Indiana
2012:
- Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Senior Lecturer at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
- Sheila Harrison-Williams, superintendent, Hazel Crest School District (Ill.)
- Constance R. Collins, superintendent in Round Lake District 116 in (Ill.)
- Constance R. Clark-Snead, superintendent, Westbury Union Free School District (N.Y.)
2011:
- Arlene C. Ackerman, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia (Pa.)
- Diane E. Reed, associate professor and co-director of the Educational Leadership Program at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y
2010:
- Barbara DeHart, professor in the school of educational studies and director of the urban leadership doctoral program at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif.
- Barbara L. Jackson, professor emerita, Fordham University, N.Y.
- Judith Johnson, superintendent, Peekskill City School District, N.Y.
- Dianne Boardley Sube, first woman president of Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C
2009:
- Lois Harrison-Jones, past-president of the National Alliance of Black School Educators
- Sarah D. Jerome, superintendent, Arlington Heights School District 25 (Ill.)
- Wilfredo T. Laboy, superintendent of Schools in Lawrence, Mass.
- Charol Shakeshaft is professor and chair of the Department of Education Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
2008:
- Randall Collins, superintendent, Waterford, Conn.
- Terry B. Grier, superintendent, Guilford County School district, Greensboro, NC
- Frances Jones, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Education Consortium.
- Helen C. Sobehart, associate provost/associate academic vice president at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Penn.
2007:
- Benjamin Canada, associate executive director of district services for the Texas Association of School Boards
- Arthur Stellar, superintendent, Taunton Public Schools, Mass.
2006:
- Joyce A. Dana, assistant professor at St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.
- Beverly L. Hall, superintendent in Atlanta, Ga.
- Michael Kremer, superintendent in Hopkins, Minn.
- Robert S. Peterkin, director of the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
- Chris L. Wright, superintendent in Florissant, Mo.
2005:
- Rosa A. Smith, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation
2004:
- Janet Baker, superintendent in Hamilton, Ohio
- Michael L. Johnson, superintendent of Bexley City Schools, Ohio
- I. Sue Shepard, interim dean of education at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
