We are pleased to announce that Danielle Johnson-Webb will be joining Cary Academy as our new Director of Equity and Community Engagement in July. Her hire concludes an exhaustive and highly competitive search that stretched across the country.
Most recently, Danielle joins the Cary Academy community from the Montessori School of Raleigh, where she served as the Director of Enrollment Management. There, she worked to create equitable recruiting policy and procedures to increase diversity within the MSR community. In service of that goal, she leveraged her equity and inclusivity training—including her participation in programs like Deconstructing White Privilege, (Un)Privileged: The Cost of Being Poor at an Elite Institution, and From Diversity to Plurality—to develop and implement training, curriculum, and programs in the areas of equity, inclusion, and justice for all employees.
In addition to her experience with MSR, Danielle has a long history of working within independent schools—including Duke School and Davidson Day School—in various roles, ranging from faculty member to senior administrator. In addition to equity and inclusivity work, her experience includes teaching, enrollment management, development, and communications. Altogether, her experience affords her a unique and holistic understanding of independent schools that will undoubtedly inform and benefit her equity and engagement work at CA.
Outside of her independent school experience, Danielle returned to her alma mater, North Carolina Central University, as a commentator for the NCCU Sports Network and Time Warner Cable. In college, she was a member of the North Carolina Central University championship women’s volleyball program and the women’s basketball program. You’re likely to find her on the court and cheering from the sidelines next year as she gets to know our community.
The Director of Equity and Community Engagement is a newly created role for Cary Academy. Housed within the Center for Community Engagement, the role encompasses and expands the responsibilities of the former Director of Diversity position held by Jason Franklin, and includes a stronger mandate for internal and external community-building.
The shift in title from “diversity” to “equity and community engagement” is purposeful. It reflects the shifting landscape of equity and inclusivity work and a more nuanced recognition that a diverse community is not necessarily an equitable one. Diversity alone is not enough; it must be thoughtfully coupled with robust equity and inclusivity efforts. The title change signals CA’s ongoing commitment to creating a truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse community where everyone has an opportunity to have a voice, be heard, and thrive.
Look for more about Danielle, her background, and her vision for her new role in an interview with Chief Student Diversity Officer Lily Levin in the upcoming issue of ?, The Magazine of Cary Academy landing in mailboxes in April.