These include the Delta Area Rural Transit System and the Mississippi Children’s Health Project.   Ms. Jones-Taylor has directed the organization for close to thirty years, after serving in several management and finance positions in non-profit and for profit organizations.  Born and reared in Hollandale, MS, she attended Tougaloo College where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics.  She further matriculated at Jackson State University and obtained a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Finance and completed a leadership internship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland sponsored by the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Ms. Jones-Taylor’s employment experience includes serving as business manager, Chief Financial Officer, Audit Supervisor and accountant for various state agencies, non-profit and for-profit businesses.  During her tenure at Aaron E. Henry she has developed, implemented and expanded on several economic and community development initiatives.   Some of these include programs to address health disparities in chronic diseases, pharmaceutical access, local network development, workforce development, emergency room diversion initiatives, community health education initiatives, health and wellness programs and rural general public transportation.

Ms. Jones Taylor served as president of the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association, member of the National Rural Health Task Force, Geiger Gibson Leadership Advisory Group at George Washington University and on several local, state and national boards and committees.

Ms. Johnson earned her B.A. in Political Science from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.

A longtime proponent of public education in Mississippi. Mr. Crews is the former Chief Executive and Chairman of Journal, Inc., a Tupelo-based media company, where he worked for 33 years. He served as Vice President of Teach for America-Mississippi from 2012 through 2014. Prior to that he briefly served as chief operating officer for the Tupelo Public Schools and was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Tupelo Public School District. Mr. Crews also has a long history of stewardship of significant budgets (1M+) for programs that support teacher development in the state of Mississippi. Most notably, Mr. Crews managed a corporate investment that gave way to a model initiative that laid the groundwork for the Education Reform Act. Mr. Crews received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Ole Miss in 1978, where he was elected Associated Student Body president and was a Rhodes Scholar finalist representing the state of Mississippi.

His career has taken him from being an auditor, to an accounting manager with the City of Dallas, Texas, to being an entrepreneur. Mr. Johnson served as the Tunica County Chief Financial Officer from 1995 to 2005, with fiscal responsibility and oversight of budgets up to $100 million. He served as the Tunica County Administrator from 2005 to 2013 and now serves as Vice President/Loan Officer at the Planters Bank & Trust Tunica Branch. Mr. Johnson’s extensive board governance experience includes serving as:  a founding member of the Robinsonville Rotary Club, a past president of the Tunica County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Tunica County Economic Development Foundation, and a board member of Sacred Heart Southern Missions.

With over 14 years of experience in education as a teacher and a school leader, Ms. Howell has dedicated her entire career to educational equity in underserved communities. Most recently, she provided direct support focused on instruction, leadership, and strategy for schools in emerging regions at the KIPP Foundation. In addition, she led and expanded three of KIPP’s leadership development programs – the Miles Family, Global, and Fisher Fellowships. Ms. Howell began her career in education as a Teach for America Corps Member in New York City. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Swarthmore College and received a Masters of Arts from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Administration and Supervision from National-Louis University.

Her roots as an educator began while serving elementary students in Milwaukee Public Schools. Her tenure involved myriad of roles, including K-8 school administrator, classroom teacher, Title I teacher, technology teacher, programs implementer, and district trainer for efficacy, quality, and proficiency programs. Dr. Logan Smith served as Vice President for the Efficacy Institute, a national non-profit agency of education reform, dedicated to the mission of proficiency for all children in academics and character. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic development of training, marketing, and client management services. During her employ with the Institute, she trained approximately 10,000 teachers, certified over 200 teacher and parent trainers, and prepared more than 3,000 students to serve change agents in their schools through the Envoy Project, an Efficacy youth leadership program. Currently Dr. Logan Smith serves as the Executive Director of Teach for America – Mississippi, where she continues to fight for educational equity and excellence for the children of the state.

Dr. Logan Smith completed her PhD in Education and Leadership at Cardinal Stritch University, where she also serves as adjunct faculty, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, management, and business. Dr. Logan Smith earned her M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduated cum laude with her B.S. degree in Education (K-8) and Psychology from Lakeland College.