Josie Raymond

Josie has dedicated her career to creating opportunities, particularly pathways to education, for people in poverty. Just out of college, she started writing about poverty and homelessness for Change.org and lifted up the voices of people in poverty by recruiting them to write about their experiences firsthand. Seeking a deeper impact, she became a middle school reading and writing teacher with Teach For America, where she saw 16-year-olds use paragraphs for the first time before having their essays about becoming a father, being abused, and wanting a gun published on the front page of the Sunday newspaper.

Later, as a nonprofit manager, Josie designed programs that pushed hundreds of students of color to record GPA and ACT growth before becoming the first in their families to go to college. Their children will be many times more likely to attend college as a result. She wrote down the story of Ulises, one of her most inspiring students. As a small business coach in Louisville she helped dozens of entrepreneurs, many of them women and immigrants, access the capital they needed to pursue their dreams.

In each role, Josie’s mission was the same: lift up people seeking to build better lives for themselves and their children. Now, as a Student Success Coordinator at the University of Louisville, she hears harrowing stories of the obstacles faced by young people, and every day she’s encouraged by the resilience they show in overcoming them.

Outside of work, Josie commits her time and efforts to improve outcomes for children. She serves on the boards of Louisville Girls Leadership and Summerbridge Louisville and volunteers with Metro United Way’s Ready for K Alliance to increase kindergarten readiness rates. Her husband, Adam, a writer, took me to duPont Manual High School’s junior prom on their first date. Their kids, Pippy and Kurt, love their daycare, their library, and their dog.

To learn more about Josie visit josieraymond.com