Shawon Jackson
Vocal Justice

Personal Bio

Shawon launched Vocal Justice because he believes that every young person, especially those who have been proximate to injustice, should feel inspired and prepared to advocate for social change. Before launching Vocal Justice, Shawon worked with an education nonprofit in the Dominican Republic and did federal consulting with Deloitte. Between career and volunteer efforts, Shawon has helped hundreds of young people tap into the power of their voices and share their stories and ideas with others. He graduated from Princeton where he studied public policy and served two terms as student body president. He earned his MPP/MBA from Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford Business School and now lives in Oakland, California. When he’s not working, Shawon loves dancing hip-hop, bachata, and merengue.

Project Description

Vocal Justice positions youth who are proximate to injustice as leaders for liberation by creating learning conditions that strengthen their community, critical consciousness, and communication skills. Their core offering, a teacher fellowship program, trains and pays high school teachers to facilitate a social justice education program at their schools. The year-long program helps youth deepen their self-awareness, learn about social justice, and practice communicating authentically and persuasively about the issues that matter most to them. Vocal Justice youth alumni will go on to join advocacy and youth leadership efforts to advance change in their communities. Over time, Vocal Justice will work with young people to advance systemic change that makes liberatory education and youth power core to every school in the U.S.