IGS National Advisory Council

KEVIN JOHNSON

Kevin Johnson is a twelve-year veteran of the National Basketball Association. Johnson spent nearly his entire career with the Phoenix Suns, a career spanning 735 regular season and 105 playoff games. During his storied career, Johnson was named to the All-Star team three times, received a gold medal in the 1994 World Championship games with the Dream Team II, and holds a NBA Finals' single game record for minutes played (62) when the Suns defeated the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan in triple-overtime in Game 3 of the 1993 series. Johnson is the Phoenix Suns' all-time leader in assists (6,518), free-throws made (3,851) and free-throws attempted (4,579). During the 1996-97 season, Johnson became only the sixth player in league history to amass 11,500 points, 6,000 assists, 2,000 rebounds and 1,000 steals. Johnson, like a soldier representing his country, came out of retirement on March 23, 2000, the day after point guard Jason Kidd broke his ankle, to assist the Suns during the stretch run — a stretch run that saw the Suns make it to the second round of the playoffs. On March 7, 2001, Kevin Johnson was inducted into the Suns Ring of Honor, only the seventh player in franchise history.

Kevin Johnson grew up in Sacramento and attended Sacramento High School, where he starred in both basketball and baseball. As a senior, Johnson led the state of California in scoring with an average of 32.5 points per game and was named the Northern California Player of the Year. Following graduation in 1983, Johnson accepted a basketball scholarship to attend the University of California, Berkeley. Johnson never lost his passion for baseball; however, during his junior year at Cal he was drafted and later signed to a professional contract with the Oakland Athletics. Still, basketball remained his focus. While at Cal, Johnson led the Bears to their first post-season appearance in over twenty years. Before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the seventh pick in the first round, Johnson ended his four year career at Cal as the Bears all-time leader in scoring, assists and steals. Johnson graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in Political Science.

Johnson was raised in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, an economically disadvantaged area which is confronted by many of the social ills affecting inner cities across America such as drugs, gangs, teenage pregnancy and high unemployment. Early on, Johnson made a commitment to Oak Park resolving to assist the community in areas of need.

In the summer of 1989, Johnson founded St. HOPE Academy (SHA), a nonprofit after-school educational program located in the heart of Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood. SHA's initial purpose was to tutor young people and provide them with the opportunities for educational, social and spiritual growth to assist them to one day become leaders in their communities. In 1991, Johnson spearheaded a fundraising drive which culminated in the design and construction of a 7,000 square foot, $1 million dollar facility, which has served hundreds of local students and their parents. In 2000, SHA transformed into a full-fledged nonprofit community development corporation designed to revitalize inner city communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development and arts enrichment. Through comprehensive art, volunteer and real estate development divisions, SHA has achieved much success, including the rehabilitation of a 25,000 square foot mixed-use facility that now includes a 200-seat theater, bookstore, barbershop, Starbucks, art gallery and loft apartments.

In October 2001, Johnson's newest nonprofit corporation, St. HOPE Public Schools (SHPS), was formed to create and operate charter schools in Oak Park. On August 4, 2003, in partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District, SHPS opened PS7, an elementary charter school that currently offers a rigorous curriculum for nearly 400 children in grades K-8. On September 2, 2003, SHPS opened five autonomous small schools on the Sacramento High School campus. Sacramento High, Johnson's alma mater and the second oldest public high school west of the Mississippi, had experienced years of neglect and underperformance prior to SHPS' intervention. SHPS now provides opportunities to learn to more than 1,300 students at Sacramento High School, who are enrolled in either the School of the Arts, School of Business and Communications, School of Law and Public Service, or the School of Math, Engineering and Health Sciences.

In April 2006 Johnson was recruited by a community-based national campaign called STAND UP to be their national spokesperson. The campaign was initiated to address America's education crisis, and it receives substantial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As part of the kick-off to the STAND UP campaign, Johnson and Bill and Melinda Gates appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on April 12, 2006, encouraging a national call to action for all parents, teachers, administrators and students to demand excellent high schools that prepare students to succeed.

In response to the airing of that show, Johnson was asked to come to Harlem in New York City by a group of parents who were unsatisfied with the operation of their charter school. Shortly thereafter, the New York City Department of Education entered into a historic partnership with St. HOPE Academy to help revitalize the Choir Academy of Harlem, a struggling 500-student K-12 public school. This marked the first expansion for St. HOPE Academy outside of Oak Park and paves the way for a new St. HOPE operated charter school in Harlem by the 2008-09 academic year.

Johnson's philanthropic and community service endeavors are not limited to Sacramento. In addition to having contributed financially to worthwhile organizations nationwide, Johnson has served on the board of directors for the University of California Alumni Association, Phoenix Suns Charities, Christian Athlete Ministries, Phoenix Symphony, the School House Foundation, Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), and on the advisory board for the Caring Institute. Johnson also spends countless hours visiting with school children and speaking on behalf of local and national groups affiliated with youth. Presently, Johnson is the Chairman of the Board for both St. HOPE Academy and St. HOPE Public Schools.

Johnson's concern and compassion for children and education prompted former President George H.W. Bush to honor him with the 411th Point of Light. In addition to also being selected as one of the "15 Greatest Men on Earth" by McCall's Magazine, Johnson has received the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, the Good Morning America Award from Sports Illustrated, the "Most Caring American" award by the Caring Institute and, in 1997, Johnson was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho. In 2002, Johnson was admitted to the Master of Theological Studies Program at Harvard Divinity School, but elected to defer enrollment until a later date so that he could focus on revitalizing his inner-city neighborhood.