Biography

Dr. Shawn Joseph’s passion for equity and social justice has led him to serve in a number of positions in the world of education.  He has been an English teacher, reading specialist, school administrator, central office administrator, and superintendent in Delaware (Seaford School District) and Tennessee (Metro Nashville Public Schools). He served  on the faculty of Fordham University in the Department of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy during the 2019-2020 school year and is currently Co-Director of the AASA/Howard Urban Superintendent Academy and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy Studies at Howard University.

In 2009, Dr. Joseph was honored by his peers as the National Association of Secondary School Administrator’s Met-Life Middle School Principal of the year for the State of Maryland.  In 2010, Dr. Joseph was the recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in the area of Educational Leadership.  In 2019 and 2020, Dr. Joseph was selected as the Person of the Year by the Tribune Newspaper in Nashville.  His first book, The Principal’s Guide to the First 100 Days of the School Year: Creating Instructional Momentum, offers insight into the complexity of the principalship and suggests strategies for focusing on increasing student achievement. In 2019, he published the book Finding the Joseph Within, a memoir which tells the account of his professional journey and how faith and perseverance unleashed favor upon his life.  

Dr. Joseph earned a doctoral degree in educational administration and policy studies from The George Washington University and a master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University.  His bachelor’s degree is from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, America’s oldest Historically Black College.

Dr. Joseph’s research interests include studying the leadership experiences of Black male superintendents, superintendent preparation programs, and how minoritized leaders lead for equity.