VVS Executive Director Jessye Johnson named ‘Flinn-Brown Fellow,’ bringing domestic violence awareness to the forefront across Arizona
Johnson to interact with policy makers, other civic-minded leaders to help make a difference in Verde Valley
COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation recently announced that Verde Valley Sanctuary Executive Director Jessye Johnson has been accepted into the Flinn-Brown Fellowship, which connects civic-minded leaders across the state with the policy knowledge, peer networks, and tools to make a real difference in Arizona.
Accepted into the 18th cohort of the program through the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation, Johnson is among 24 other state and community leaders who hail from eight different counties and represent fields as varied as rural health care, municipal finance, affordable housing, agriculture, education, law, and more.
Dawn Wallace, vice president of civic leadership at the Flinn Foundation, said in a recent release by the organization that this accomplished group of individuals share a commitment to public life, and the readiness to engage across differences to address Arizona’s long-term challenges.
“Fifteen years in, the Flinn-Brown Network is proof that Arizona has no shortage of people who care deeply about this state,” Wallace said in a statement. “The Flinn-Brown Fellowship is how we put them in the same room with each other and top policymakers and use the knowledge to turn that commitment into lasting impact.”
Johnson said she is “honored” to now be a Flinn-Brown Fellow.
“It is surreal, in some respects, to realize the positive impact of being selected to join this exclusive cohort of individuals,” Johnson said. “The fellows are impactful in their communities and across the state, and I am honored to join their ranks.”
Johnson, who has served as Verde Valley Sanctuary’s executive director for more than four years, joined the agency with more than 20 years of experience in the domestic violence and sexual assault movement in Arizona, beginning in early 2000 when her career started as a case manager for a shelter.
The Colorado native eventually took her passion and lessons learned from direct service to the statewide level at the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence as their chief strategy officer and in her position, helped craft policy at the state level for the 2011 Arizona Service Standards for Domestic Violence Programs. She was also an appointee to the governor’s Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force.
“Being selected is truly an honor. I am excited to engage with individuals whom I have admired from afar and bring back the skills and knowledge gained to Verde Valley Sanctuary and the broader Verde Valley and Yavapai County community,” Johnson said.
The cohort will work within the Flinn-Brown Academy, which consists of 13 full-day sessions running through the summer and fall covering state budget, criminal justice, education, health care, the environment, infrastructure, and more. They’ll interact with appointed officials, judges, and policy experts. Stan Barns of Copper State Consulting Group and Rebecca Rios, a current South Mountain Justice of the Peace, are former legislators and will hold discussions from different political perspectives, which is designed to build civil and substantive dialogue.
“Arizona’s challenges don’t sort neatly by sector or party, and neither does this cohort,” said Tammy McLeod, Ph.D., Flinn Foundation president and CEO. “These are people already doing the work in their communities. The fellowship deepens their understanding of state-level policy and connects them to a network built for the long haul.”
About
Verde Valley Sanctuary’s mission is to provide safety, services, and comfort to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The agency began in 1993 as a grassroots organization with a leased modular home that slept six and has grown into a 28-bed emergency shelter with transitional housing options, lay legal advocacy services, community-based advocacy support, a 24/7/365 crisis hotline (928-634-2511) and a staff that takes pride in its youth violence prevention education and public outreach and awareness. VVS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and qualifying charitable organization for the Arizona Tax Credit. Federal Tax ID: #86-071314; QCO Code: #20041. Visit VerdeValleySanctuary.org for more information.