Leadership

Sharon Earnest – Executive Director – Staff

Growing up, I wanted to be a… Missionary and Police Officer/Criminologist.

If I owned a business, it would be… Super Errands, I enjoy staying busy and running errands, so why not do it for others? Seems like a good fit.

My favorite quote is … "To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world", Quote by Bill Wilson

When I'm not at work, I love being a Mammaw, traveling, hunting, reading a good book and playing with MYMonsterPuppy…aka Hadley, she's a giant Standard Poodle.

What I remember most about elementary school is... the lifelong friends that I made and Science class.

If I could have any job for one day, I would want to be… Criminologist! I really enjoy the science of it all.

I love working at JA because… Knowing that I can play a small part of helping development the minds of children, be a positive role model and help them become successful adults is a lifelong reward. Also, knowing that our students can one day positively influence our community by using their foundation in economic skills learned through Junior Achievement!

Plus JA has the best volunteers!

Learn more about Sharon…

Is a Texas native. Born in Sweetwater and lived all over Texas growing up. She moved to Abilene in early of 1983 and pursued a career in engineering with General Dynamics/Lockheed for 13 years. In 1996 went to work for the American Heart Association for 10 years. Sharon grew there and became the Regional Director. In 2005 she joined the CPA Firm – Condley and Company, LLP as Marketing/Business Development Manager. Sharon graduated with Honors and earned three degrees from Wayland Baptist University; a Bachelor's degree in Occupational Education, an Associates in Business Law and an Associates in Occupational Technology. Her passion is to always be kind, it doesn't take an ounce of energy! In January 2020, Sharon began her career with Junior Achievement!!!!

Sharon has two sons – Slade and Kyler, two daughters-in-law – Rachel and Shelby and 5 grandchildren, 3 boys- Kyle, Mason and Aedan and two girls- Ellie and Emmy.

She is an avid hunter and really enjoys traveling and spending time with her dog Hadley.

Stephanie Johnson – Education Manager – Education

Email
325-677-3557

Growing up I wanted to be a.... dolphin trainer, or a jockey, or an archaeologist.

If I owned a business, it would be a.... local bookstore.

My favorite quote is from my all-time favorite book, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, "You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

If I could have any job for one day, I would want to be a..... dog groomer.

When I'm not at work, I love being a dog-Mom to my black Lab Pepper and her Labradoodle puppy, Oliver. But of course, I also love being a "real" Mom to my 3 children: JT, Grace & Faith and my 3 step-children: Zach, Zeke & Noah. My hobbies include; making puzzles, reading, painting rock "flowers" & traveling with my husband Kevin, who is an Abilene Firefighter.

Stephanie is a proud native Texan. She was born in Ft. Worth but spent most of her childhood in El Paso. She attended Texas Tech University where she earned her BS in Secondary Education in 1991 and later her Masters of Education ~ Instructional Technology. In 1991, she moved to Midland for her first teaching job and soon after that also worked as a School Librarian. In 1992, she relocated to Abilene, where she worked at Anson Jones Elementary until 2000. After staying home for some time to raise her children, Stephanie came back to teaching in 2012, working as the Librarian at Austin Elementary & later at Craig Middle School. Her passion is helping others fall in love with learning & she hopes to be able to inspire students to find and follow their passion as well.

Stephanie began her career with Junior Achievement in March of 2022.