Jonathan Johnson is a graduate of Chapman University, where he received a BA in Religious Studies. “As a senior in college, and the first black Student Body President, I felt this sense of responsibility to give back to those with similar stories,” he said looking back at his time at Chapman. His passion for education began at KIPP, where he kickstarted his 8th grade social studies teaching career. While the average passing rate of his district was fifty-seven percent, over eighty percent of Jonathan’s students received passing grades- an inspiring statistic that only begins to exemplify his range of successes.

During his work as a 8th grade social studies teacher, Jonathan met a student named Ricky, whose story can be heard from Jonathan’s video submission. After losing Ricky, Jonathan was faced with a question that became a catalyst for his future. “How might I enable less harm and be a challenger for more good?” he wondered. Jonathan quit his job as a social studies teacher, and set out on a journey to found a school of his own.

Rooted School, which he created in 2014, was a product of a partnership between New Schools for New Orleans, 4.0 Schools, and Khan Academy to incubate innovative public schools in New Orleans. Rooted School will be a network of high school students with the shared goal of being the leading supplier of high school-aged talent to fast-growing, high-wage industries. “Several industry sectors across the country are growing really quickly, and pay a lot- but they don’t have the local talent to match their growth. I wanted to connect young people to fill this talent pipeline gap,” he explained. Rooted’s flagship campus focuses on the digital media sector, creating a model of schools that provides lucrative career pathways for students in the Greater New Orleans region.

His teaching career has led to various awards and achievements. In 2014, Jonathan was a finalist for the Fishman Prize, a highly selective and prestigious national teaching award. Echoing Green, a leading impact investor, selected Jonathan as ‘one of the world’s best emerging social innovators’, in which they selected 1 percent of their 3,500 global applicants. Similarly, he is a Camelbak Venture Fellow, and a recipient of the Teach for America Social Innovation Award.

His work has also been featured in various national publications such as Forbes and Fast Company. Lastly, he has been interviewed by News One Now’s Roland Martin and NPR’s Michel Martin to discuss the need for Rooted and potential impact it could have across the United States.

As Jonathan prepares for the Gathering, he looks forward to seeing some of his old colleagues from KIPP, as well as networking with people from the social impact space. ”It’s a moment to reunite with friends around a problem that is something all of us are waking up everyday trying to solve. It’s about figuring out how to unify and build bridges, rather than burn them and tear them down.I’m excited to learn how to build bridges, certainly between folks doing like minded work, but especially with folks of alternative points of view,” he added.

Watch Jonathan’s submission video here!