Ashanti Johnson has made several notable contributions to stem enlightenment, which earned her the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring|2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering. Since that time, she has sustained the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS Ph.D.'S) Professional Development Mentoring Institute and served as the founding CEO/Superintendent of Cirrus Academy, a statewide STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) charter school system in Georgia.