Johnnie L. Foreman, Jr., longtime director of community and diversity at the Gilman School (Maryland), is the recipient of the 2014 NAIS Diversity Leadership Award. In presenting the award at the NAIS Annual Conference in Orlando, NAIS Vice President for Equity and Justice Caroline Blackwell noted the importance of Foreman’s diversity work not just at his school, but also in the broader independent school community and in the public schools of Baltimore. In all three areas, Blackwell said, Foreman has graced the “education landscape with the steady, reliable, and honorable commitment of his presence, knowledge, generosity of spirit, and matchless work ethic.”

After 10 years of teaching in the public sector, Foreman transitioned to independent schools, where he has served for 37 years at the Gilman School in Baltimore. His introduction to diversity initiatives began as he worked closely with the former assistant head of Gilman School on a citywide Upward Bound program. He has since been involved in numerous diversity initiatives at both the local and national level that have helped move the independent school community forward in its collective diversity work. Foreman is the chair of the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools, a member of the NAIS Call to Action Committee, and a facilitator at the NAIS Diversity Leadership Institute. In 2013, the Black Professional Men Organization awarded him its “Rays of Hope” award.