Howard Academy Sponsor and Leaders

Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, Esq.

Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs brings extensive leadership experience in the education sector, having served as Chair of the Board of Education for Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland — one of the nation’s largest school districts — for more than a decade.

During her time as a school board member, she served as president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education and Chair of NSBA’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE), demonstrating an unwavering commitment to promoting excellence and equity in education and working tirelessly to enhance educational outcomes for all students. During her time on the school board, McCotter-Jacobs worked for more than 20 years for the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, retiring as the Division Chief of the Office of Professional Responsibility and Legal Affairs at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She maintains license to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

McCotter-Jacobs began her tenure at NSBA in 2017, leading the organization’s change around member engagement, as well as building upon the organization’s progress in member services, equity, and social justice to identify discriminatory practices, prejudices, and beliefs in education policy. Under her leadership, NSBA’s CUBE experienced triple-digit growth. She was named NSBA’s Chief Transformational Officer in 2020 and Deputy Executive Director in August 2022.

Dr. Shawn Joseph
Dr. Shawn Joseph’s passion for equity and social justice has led him to serve in a number of positions in the world of education. He has been an English teacher, reading specialist, school administrator, central office administrator, and superintendent in Delaware (Seaford School District) and Tennessee (Metro Nashville Public Schools). He served on the faculty of Fordham University in the Department of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy during the 2019-2020 school year and is currently Co-Director of the AASA/Howard Urban Superintendent Academy and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy Studies at Howard University.

In 2009, Dr. Joseph was honored by his peers as the National Association of Secondary School Administrator’s Met-Life Middle School Principal of the year for the State of Maryland. In 2010, Dr. Joseph was the recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in the area of Educational Leadership. In 2019 and 2020, Dr. Joseph was selected as the Person of the Year by the Tribune Newspaper in Nashville. His first book, The Principal’s Guide to the First 100 Days of the School Year: Creating Instructional Momentum, offers insight into the complexity of the principalship and suggests strategies for focusing on increasing student achievement. In 2019, he published the book Finding the Joseph Within, a memoir which tells the account of his professional journey and how faith and perseverance unleashed favor upon his life.

Dr. Joseph earned a doctoral degree in educational administration and policy studies from The George Washington University and a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University. His bachelor’s degree is from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, America’s oldest Historically Black College. Dr. Joseph’s research interests include studying the leadership experiences of Black superintendents, superintendent preparation programs, and how minoritized leaders lead for equity.

As an Associate for HYA, Dr. Joseph has served on cabinet level and superintendent searches since 2022. He most recently conducted cabinet searches in Montgomery County Public Schools, Atlanta Public Schools, Omaha Public Schools, and Patterson Public Schools. Dr. Joseph also conducts program evaluations and provides executive coaching.