Stephanie Lewis-Johnson was a member of the Mighty Kashmere Rams Cheerleading Squad. Voted as “Miss Kashmere” for the 1970-1971 school year, she proudly represented the school in many district functions, including the city-wide Jaycees Queen contest where she finished second. While attending Kashmere, Stephanie was a member of the Honor Society and received numerous awards and recognition for academic achievement. Voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” she graduated 3^rd in her class and was awarded the Evan E. Worthing Scholarship. In that year, this academic full four year scholarship was worth a grand total of $4,000. Stephanie attended Texas Southern University where she earned her B.S. degree with honors in Elementary Education with a minor in History. Later, she graduated magna cum laude from TSU with a Masters in Elementary Education.

Stephanie was employed with the North Forest Independent School District (Fonwood Elementary), Houston ISD (River Oaks Elementary), and Aldine ISD (Gray Elementary). She received “Teacher of the Year” awards in both NFISD and AISD. During her teaching career, she was employed as a language arts teacher, testing coordinator and skills specialist. Her responsibilities included in-service training for teachers, curriculum writing and preparing students for the state-mandated tests. She is proud of the accomplishments of her students who never dropped below 91% on the state test. At the time of her retirement, the score was 97%. Stephanie pinned an article, “Why We Teach” which was published in the national publication, Education Digest. After 35 years of dedicated service, Stephanie retired in 2011 but has returned to teaching as a part-time tutor.

Stephanie is a member of Fallbrook Church. She is the 5^th of 9 children of James and Betty Lewis. She had one child, a son, Stecil B. Hopkins who was lost to an auto accident at the age of 17. Upon her son’s death, she gave permission for him to be an organ donor which saved the lives of three recipients, one of whom remains in constant contact and speaks publicly, often carrying a picture of Stecil and voicing her gratitude for Stephanie’s forethought. Shortly after Stecil’s death, she and her sisters formed a non-profit organization titled S.T.E.C.I.L.  (Strengthened Through Education Community Inspired Leaders). The teenage friends of her son met weekly, and they were mentored for character development, community involvement and educational achievement. They were encouraged in meetings by a variety of community leaders ranging from the president of TSU, a newspaper publisher, a priest and others. One high profile teen from the group has made his mark under the name of Slim Thug. Stephanie has 2 ‘bonus children,’ Velika Thomas and Jarvis Johnson (State Representative) and 5 grandchildren. Her hobbies include reading and gardening. Stephanie’s loving husband is radio executive, Larry Don Johnson.