Jennifer Young Wallace

Dr. Jennifer Young Wallace is a tenured Associate Professor/Coordinator of
the Doctoral Program-Educational Leadership for the College of Education
at Jackson State University, a Tier II research university, where she
presently serves as JSU Faculty Senate President.
Dr. Wallace serves as national President 2025-2026 for the Association of
Teacher Educators (ATE), making history as the first president who is an
alumnus of, and employed at an HBCU. She is the 5 th African American
president in the 105-year history of the organization. She travels over the
United States as keynote speaker for national conferences, commencement
& baccalaureate exercises, organizations’ initiatives and others. She will be
presenting her research on Critical Race Theory in America in Dublin, Ireland, representing the
United States as ATE President.
Wallace is the president of the Capital Area Sunset Rotary Club, where she is a charter member, and
is having her second round as president. She is a product of Holmes County and graduated from SV
Marshall High School in 1987 as Valedictorian.
Wallace was recently recognized on the floor of the Mississippi House of Representatives after the
House voted on a resolution (MS H.R. 44 – 2025) recognizing her work in k12/higher education on
state and national levels. The resolution is a part of the MS History archives. She was awarded the
competitive Summer 2024 Institute of Social Justice Faculty Fellowship for her social justice
research project, An Injustice to Social Justice: The MS Black Caucus Perspective on Critical Race
Theory. She was invited by Harvard University Black Teacher Archive Project administration to
join their two-year project to bring exposure and acknowledgment to the historic archive.
Dr. Wallace has over 30 journal articles and book chapters published in noteworthy educational
journals. Her research agenda includes k12 pedagogy, critical race theory, educational training, and
leadership. She has reviewed numerous educational books and has written foreword and
afterword for numerous books. She serves as Co-Principal Investigator grants, supporting
educational opportunities for middle and high school students.
Among many awards/recognitions, Wallace is recognized, with seven other innovative women of
various careers, as one of Mississippi’s leading women for the 2025 National Women History month
for her work in education. She received the 2024 Champion Award for Women in Rotary; and 2023
Educator’s Award from MS Women of Progress. She is a proud recipient of the Doctoral Excellence
Award 2024 for her excellence in doctoral research and doctoral level curriculum and education.
She was name one of MS’s top businesswomen by the Mississippi Business Journal.
Dr. Wallace received a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University in English/Journalism;
master’s degree from Jackson State in Counseling Psychology; master’s degree in English from
Mississippi College; and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Administration from Jackson
State. She completed a two-year bible training class from Word of Life Ministries.
Dr. Wallace serves on a national research team with college professors across America, researching
k-12 teachers’ perceptions of their own pedagogy. She was selected as a national evaluator of
education programs for numerous national organizations including CAEP, AAQEP, & SACSCOS in
colleges and universities in the United States, where she travels to evaluate colleges’ performance

on educational standards. She travels across the nation, consulting with educational agencies and
organizations on issues and trends in education that lead to building educational frameworks,
policies, principles, standards and professional development. She has developed numerous
educational after-school programs, where she developed the programs and created student
educational activities, worksheets, and teacher guides for delivery of instructions. These programs
include, uGrOW, a program that teaches k-6 students how to deal with grief and their emotions
during loss; Character Education, a program that uses Aesop’s fables to focus on good character
traits such as trust, responsibility, love, etc.; Math and English Mini-lessons for k-5 based on Career-
Readiness Standards; Virtual Learning Centers, a program that introduces students to international
people, places, and events to broaden their horizons and confidence to globally engage in learning.
She has served on numerous committees/task forces for the Mississippi Department of Education,
focusing on teacher preparation. She holds numerous k-12 educator’s licensure, including
Administration, Counseling, English, and Psychometry. Dr. Wallace has a manifold of experience
and collaborations in education on a local, state, regional and national level. She has received
numerous local, state, and national awards for her dedication to education and her community.
Wallace was appointed by the MS State Dept. of Education Superintendent to serve on the MS
Autism Advisory Council, a MS House Bill committee and as college representative on the Special
Education Advisory Panel (SEAP). She served on the national Board for the Association of Teacher
Educators (2019-2022), where she worked on the sustainability of the organization committee.
Other Boards include the Margaret Walker Alexander National Center Board (Secretary) and
Precious Children Mobile Mission Board (Vice-President). She has chaired the Legislative
Government Relations Committee for the Association of Teacher Educators. She served a 3-year-
term on the Advocacy Committee for the national American Association for College Teachers of
Education (AACTE), one of seven professors in the nation elected to the committee.
She is a member of the LeFleur’s Bluff Chapter of the Links, Inc. where she has served as the
Internal Audit Chair and now as the Financial Secretary; Vice President of the National Coalition of
100 Black Women, Central MS Chapter; Assistant Governor for Rotary Club District 6820; and
member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She has been chosen as keynote speaker for national
organizations’ conferences, collegiate and high school graduations and Founders Day programs; she
has presented her research on leadership and educational trends at numerous national
conferences.
She is married to Michael A. Wallace, and is the daughter of Mr. Learnear and Mrs. Mattie L. Young
of Cruger, Mississippi. She enjoys spending time with her family and her sister, Wendolyn Young.
Overall, Dr. Wallace is thankful that God has given her a Spirit of giving, serving, and sharing. She
has a passion for education and considers her engagement as an Educational Ministry. Her motto is
“I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”