Jovonia Lewis

About Jovonia Lewis

I am the founder and executive director of Empowered Parents in Community (EPiC-NC). My experience and passion for education, empowerment and social justice led me to create EPiC, a Durham-based, parent collective working for equity in the education school system. Our vision is to build a supportive bridge between home and school that is rooted in collective, community action and “standing in the gap” to create an equitable educational system in which every Black child is seen and has the opportunity to thrive. I am also a nationally certified and licensed clinical mental health counselor, community advocate and civil servant. I have held various leadership positions with the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People’s Education Committee, the Board of Durham Council PTA, and commissioned to serve on the City of Durham’s Race Equity Task Force. I successfully campaigned for a seat on the Durham Public School’s Board of Education and began my school board term in July 2020. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of NC in Greensboro. I hold a masters and education specialist degree from Georgia State University. I am a wife, a mother of 3 boys, and a native of a Williamston, NC. I call Durham, NC home where I have committed to “standing in the gap”

Experience

1. Executive Director

   Empowered Parents In Community

   May 2019 — Present · Durham, NC, US

   Empowered Parents in Community, EPIC, is a non-profit, 501c3, that aims to cultivate parent leadership and improve the school conditions to better support family engagement and students educational needs. Our mission is to dismantle systemic racial inequities through collective organizing and intentional engagement of African American parents and communities. We also advocate for high quality educational opportunities and equitable distribution of resources. We have created and led community forums. We curate a safe space for parent, teacher and student forums and hear directly from those with lived experiences in the education system and find solutions to work better together.

Education

• Georgia State University

  MS

  1999 — 2001

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  BA

  1993 — 1997

Skills

• Spiritual Counseling
• Addiction Recovery
• Cbt
• Family Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Mental Health
• Management
• Behavioral Health
• Adolescents
• Crisis Intervention
• Workshops
• Business Management
• Workshop Presenter
• Mental Health Counseling
• Operating System Development
• Anger Management