On August 1, Lourdes University President Mary Ann Gawelek, Ed.D., announced the appointment of Angelica Johnson, as coordinator of the Teachers of Color Program, Like Me. Ms. Johnson has worked in education for more than 10 years and brings a wealth of educational and leadership experience to this position, said Ms. Gawelek. Born and raised in Toledo, she previously worked as the interim program manager for Racial Equity and Diversity Training at the University of Toledo. She holds a bachelor’s of science in life science from Bowling Green State University and a master’s of arts in counselor education from the University of Toledo. Currently pursuing a doctorate degree in foundations of education at UT, Ms. Johnson has presented scholarly work at the M.O.R.E. Institute and was nominated for the 20 under 40 Toledo Awards in 2021. She has served as program director of UT’s multicultural emerging scholars program and living learning community and participated in the 2021-22 United Way Leadership Toledo Program.
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. Zeta Alpha Omega chapter, and has served as a general member with the Toledo chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
As coordinator of Like Me, a program developed by the Lourdes University division of education, she will work to decrease the disparity in teachers of color across the region and country.
The program’s mission is to attract, prepare and mentor students of color to obtain employment in partner schools to address the large disparity between students of color and teachers of color. To date, the university has established partnerships with Springfield Local, Sylvania, Toledo Public and Washington Local Schools.
The project was funded in part by a grant from Greater Toledo Community Foundation.
