The Schott Foundation names new president

Banner Staff

John H. Jackson, a former education adviser for both the Clinton administration and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has become the new president of The Schott Foundation for Public Education.

Jackson, who replaces former Schott President Rosa A. Smith, is scheduled to take office on July 2.

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead The Schott Foundation,” Jackson said. “My professional background and experience dovetail well with the strategy and vision needed to expand Schott’s work in public education.”

Winner of the Council on Foundations’ 2007 Critical Impact Award, the Cambridge-based Schott Foundation supports grantees working toward statewide high-quality public education for all, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable students.

Jackson “has a proven track record in all four of Schott’s strategies — education policy, public policy leadership development, creating public will and leveraging resources for the movement,” said Greg Jobin-Leeds, chair of the board at The Schott Foundation. “He will be a great asset as we expand our work.”

Jackson served as the NAACP’s chief policy officer and, prior to that, as the organization’s national director of education. Before joining the NAACP, Jackson served in the Clinton administration as senior policy advisor in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education.

Jackson also serves as an adjunct professor of race, gender and public policy at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. In 2004, Jackson founded the National Equity Center Inc., a national nonprofit established to promote diversity and democratic values by providing youth with leadership, academic, research and advocacy skills to eliminate existing local and national civil rights and social justice disparities.

“John Jackson has made many contributions to the NAACP and the movement for social justice over the past seven years,” said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. “While we are sad to see him go, we are pleased that one of our own is moving forward to assist The Schott Foundation in advancing educational equity and access.”

Jackson possesses a bachelor’s degree in political science from Xavier University of Louisiana; a master’s degree in education policy from the University of Illinois’ College of Education; and a law degree from the University of Illinois’ College of Law. In addition, Jackson received a Master of Education and Doctorate of Education in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.