Accolades
Alumni
Trinity (Staten) Davis, a native of Parsons, Kansas, graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and is the founder and president of Teachers Like Me.
Teachers Like Me is an organization dedicated to recruiting, developing, and retaining Black teachers in public education in the Kansas City area. It aims to increase the number of Black teachers by removing barriers to entry, and by providing the support needed to be effective and responsive to the academic and social needs of all students — especially students of color.
Davis has been an elementary teacher and literacy coach, worked at PSU as an associate professor in the College of Education, and was an assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction with the Kansas City School District.
She and her husband, Edward, a two-time PSU graduate, have two children, Jade and Noah, and live in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Jack “JL” Johnson, a native of Columbus, Kansas, graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology and bachelor’s degree in automotive technology, and is the founder and CTO of Volta Power Systems, and the co-founder and chief engineer for Jolt-Energy Storage Technologies.
Volta was founded in 2014 to provide small and medium original equipment manufacturers in the RV, Marine, Specialty Vehicles and Ground Storage markets with access to high-quality automotive-based energy storage technology not accessible due to their market sizes.
Jolt was also started in 2014 concentrating on the development of advanced organic compounds that could enhance traditional lithium-ion technology and next-generation flow batteries.
Jack and his wife, Wendy Johnson, a 1998 PSU graduate, have two children, Alex and Mackenzie, and live in Holland, Michigan.
Davis and Johnson will be on campus Oct. 20-22 as part of Homecoming activities. They’ll visit classrooms, ride in the Homecoming parade, have dinner with President Dan Shipp, and be recognized in a ceremony and reception at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the Wilkinson Alumni Center, 401 E. Ford St. It is open to the public.
