Our Team
Temethia Joyner
Position: Young Leaders in Action Facilitator
Phone: 217.429.3000
E-mail: tjoyner@heartofillinois.org
“I look forward to creating diverse experiences, facilitating the power and gift of serving others as well as helping young leaders identify their strengths and harness their true potential,” Joyner says. “And I’m excited to be a part of the Community Foundation, an organization that has the passion for serving and giving, something that has been both instilled and modeled for me by my amazing parents, Vincent and Debra Barbee.”
Decatur native and educator Temethia Joyner has joined Macon County’s Young Leaders in Action (YLIA) group as its program facilitator. This fall, she begins her 17th year teaching for the Decatur School District. An ABAR-certified (anti-bias, anti-racist) educator, she currently teaches at Montessori Academy for Peace. She enjoys mentoring new teachers and other educators who are interested in incorporating social justice, peace education, restorative justice and/or antiracism within their classroom communities. She also works with high school students and young adults within the community, helping them find alternate routes to their goals when circumstances have created roadblocks.
A Millikin University graduate, Joyner holds a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in sociology, and she earned her credential as a Montessori educator at both the lower and upper elementary levels from the Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center. She also is completing a master’s degree in educational leadership Eastern Illinois University. Previously, Joyner spent a year as an instructional technology coach for the Professional Development Institute and through that experience learned that her passion remained with Macon County’s youth.
“I have found that, in my experience with youth, having a strong consistent presence, providing mutual respect and getting out of the way while providing an unwavering safety net creates an environment in which young people can grow in ways they never imagined,” Joyner says.
Joyner and her husband, Emile, have three children.
