A Resilient Thank You to Whitney Johnson

We would like to take a moment to honor Resilience Education's own Whitney Johnson, who is stepping down after nearly 6 years of hard work. Whitney's expertise and dedication has changed the trajectory of our organization forever and touched the lives of countless individuals in our community. We could not be more grateful for her willingness and ability to support RE by serving in not just one role, but nearly all of them.

Whitney came to us after working with incarcerated individuals in a Florida facility, bringing with her the knowledge and sensitivity needed to make an impact in our community. As RE's Program Director, she managed our relationships with facility partners, MBA instructors, and students to ensure that our educational operations ran smoothly and efficiently. Whitney helped refine Darden PREP — our flagship facility programming — and codify our model for our partners at Columbia Business School and elsewhere.

And while managing all of the behind the scenes tasks related to Darden PREP, Whitney also lent a hand in many other arenas. She led our grant writing endeavors, helping to secure many crucial investments — including those from the Truist Foundation, the Laughing Gull Foundation, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band and our transformational gifts from Robert and Megan Ruff. She coordinated the pilot mentoring program, overseeing mentor relationships between our MBA alumni and formerly incarcerated graduates in support of the Resilient Professional Community. And among many other efforts, she helped procure our agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia, articulating RE's impact and securing funding for our programming for years to come.

For all of Whitney's many accomplishments during her time here at Resilience Education, she will be most cherished for the relationships she built with the people around her. Whitney injects empathy into everything she says and does, making her a dependable friend for our staff, current students, and released graduates.

Thank you, Whitney, for your commitment and countless contributions to Resilience Education!