By William H. Kelly III
(JACKSON, Miss) – Jennifer K. Young Wallace, Ph.D., will serve as the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) president from 2025 to 2026. Wallace makes double history as the fifth African American elected to serve as national president of the organization in its 104-year history and the first president who is an alumna and employee of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
“I am deeply honored to be elected president of a national educator’s organization. I’m thankful to ATE for electing me to such an honorable position. I am excited about my team of educators who are from higher education institutions in America,” said Wallace.
Wallace’s Theme: “Empowering a Global Community of Educators to Leave a STAMP on Education: Social Emotional Learning, Transformational Leadership, Advocacy, Multiculturalism, and Professional-Practices,” inspired by the present educational trends that encompass not only her research but the research of a multitude of teacher educators throughout the world.
As President: Wallace will preside over two national conferences in St. Louis, Missouri and Crystal City, Virginia, during the Summer of 2025 and March of 2026. She currently serves as ATE’s 1st vice president and will begin her term as president in March 2025. She joined the board in 2019.
About ATE: It is the only national, individual membership organization devoted solely to improving teacher education for school—and campus-based teacher educators. Today, ATE members represent nearly 1500 teacher educators in colleges, universities, school districts, and state education agencies within 41 regional and state-affiliated units and U.S. Territories.
About Wallace: She is a tenured associate professor and coordinator of the doctoral program of Educational Leadership for the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD) at Jackson State University. She was elected chair of the JSU Undergraduate Curriculum Committee from 2021-2023, presiding over curriculum changes and modifications for all undergraduate degrees. She has served in several leadership capacities at the institution.
Wallace’s achievements: She has presented her research on leadership and educational trends at national conferences, contributed to over 20 publications in national journals, encyclopedias, and books, and served on multiple boards and committees. Her dedication to education has been recognized with local, state, and national awards, including her election as one of seven professors in the nation to the American Association for College Teachers of Education (AACTE) committee.
She is also a member of the Mississippi Department of Education, the Margaret Walker Alexander National Center Board, Precious Children Mobile Mission, the Legislative Government Relations Committee for the Association of Teacher Educators.
Overall, Wallace said she 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.
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