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 was recently elected Faculty Senate President 2025-2026.

Dr. Wallace serves as national President 2025-2026 for the Association of Teacher Educators, making history as the first president who is an alumnus of, and employed at an HBCU. She is the 5th 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.

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 named 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.”