TOP 20 UNDER 40
Joya Whittington
very young age I wanted to be a coach and stay in basketball as long as I possibly could,” she said. The high school standout received a scholarship to Seton Hill University, where she majored in business and minored is psychology, with a specialization in sport management. Upon graduation, she began her coaching career as a graduate assistant on the Seton Hill women’s basketball bench. She also completed her MBA with a specialization in entrepreneurial studies during that time. After two years as an assistant, Whittington was offered an opportunity to come back to her roots and began a head coaching career at Lackawanna College. After spending a season as the part-time head women’s basketball coach, she was offered a full-time position in the athletic department. She was then offered a job as an Age: 31 assistant coach with Lamar University, an NCAA Title: Director of Athletics and Head Division I school in Beaumont, Texas. After 10 Women’s Basketball Coach months in the south, the young woman realized Company: Lackawanna College that her roots were in northeast Pennsylvania and the East Coast. oya Whittington believes the success in her Lackawanna College immediately offered life comes from servant leadership – the only her a full-time position in athletics along with way to lead. the head women’s basketball job, and she “I believe that we were created to work and accepted the position of athletic director the work hard in all areas of live,” she said. “I also following year. believe in the pursuit of humility every day.” In addition to her father, another great menAs the director of athletics and the head tor in her life has been Ferne Labati, her college women’s basketball coach at Lackawanna coach. College, Whittington oversees 14 sports and Blessed with the ability to lead at a young their head coaches as well as an athletic staff age, she is grateful to her tremendous parents with five employees. She performs responsibili- who knew how to put truth and grace into her ties such as recruiting and day-to-day sport life every day. program functions and meeting with the col“My family is the rock of my foundation as a lege’s coaches to help ensure programs are run woman,” she said. at the highest level of collegiate athletics. She She was named to the E-Magnify Women in also oversees athletic department marketing Business and District O Coach of the Year for and social media management in collaboration two years, and she received the 2019 National with the college’s advancement department and Championship Sportsmanship award. She has collaborates with other major departments at been a member of the WBCA since 2013. the college in order to build relationships and The coach is proud of the extensive volunresources for the coaches, staff and student teer work the women’s basketball program perathletes. forms in the community including at Park Hill At Carbondale Area High School, of which Church’s A Night to Shine, basketball camps she is a graduate, she played varsity basketball for the PA Virtual Charter School, basketball for four years under the direction of her father practices at community schools and Lackawaand head coach, Patrick Whittington. nna College’s Out of the Blue and Somebody’s “Coaching is in my blood, and I knew at a Someone.
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22 NORTHEAS T P ENNS YLVANIA BUS INES S J OURNAL TS_CNG/NPBJ/PAGES [B22] | 12/03/19
18:18 | FARRELLSHE
DECEMBER 2019
Glynis Johns
Age: 26 Title: Founder, and CEO Company: Black Scranton Project
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hen Glynis Johns performs a task, you can rest assured her heart is in it. She always pushes through, because she believes there is triumph on the other side of adversity. As the founder and CEO of the Black Scranton Project, the young woman is an advocate for her community. The project is dedicated to archiving and celebrating the African American history of Scranton. As a native of Scranton, where her family has resided for many generations, Johns was determined to uncover the rich history of African Americans since the 1800s. “I have made it my mission to re-stitch their narratives and black heritage back into the cultural fabric of Scranton,” she said. “I do this because I think about the kids who look like and feel out of place or cultural-less despite being born and raised right here.” Johns spends a lot of time representing and advocating for the black community, marginalized communities and students of color in the region. With a great team of board members, she deferred some of her many jobs but is still responsible for social media pages and maintenance of a growing archive. And she is the
brain behind all the research and organization of events and programs. When Johns began working on her master’s degree in sociology at St. John’s University, the Black Scranton Project was her graduate thesis, investigating why the black community is overlooked and seen as transient in Scranton. After its completion, she returned to Scranton to share the research with her community. She began speaking at universities and businesses and was awarded a grant from the Willary Foundation – a step forward for Black Scranton’s Black History Month exhibit, which attracted more than 1,600 visitors. Finding herself invested, she decided to pursue her Ph.D in African American history. “I found so much to be proud of,” Johns said. “It is a labor of love, but I love how the work I do inspires others to value local history and local narratives. I think that is what makes the city ‘electric.’” Her mentors have been Dr. Natalie P. Byfield of St. John’s University and Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar at Rutgers University. Johns attributes her success to Louise Tanner Brown (1883-1955), who she likes to say found her in the archives. “She lived her life as a successful businesswoman here in Scranton, an activist of early 20th century civil rights movements, educator, public speaker and humanitarian,” Johns said. “She’d often say black folks only want the rights to which they are entitled. So I continue her legacy and activism.” Johns’ late father, Waverly Johns, who loved Scranton more than anyone the historian has ever met, was her biggest cheerleader and never let her give up on anything. Her mother, Sonia Morgan, is her rock, and the first to know all of her historical discoveries. Her brothers, Denzel and Garrett, her incredible friends and the community are important facets of her life. Johns was recently appointed to the Scranton Public Library Authority, the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Council, Scranton Mayor’s Art and Culture Commission, the Association for the Study of African American Life and Culture (ASALH) and is a Rutgers University first-year Ph.D. student.