Le’otis Boswell-Johnson
2018 City Year Alum Segal Fellow
Le’otis Boswell-Johnson was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. He graduated from Florida State University (FSU) with a degree in Criminology and Psychology and a Juris Doctor degree at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. While in college, Le’otis was a founding member of the non-profit program Sons of Sophistication, a mentoring program for young men of color at a high school in Tallahassee, FL. He is now the company's CEO. After graduating from FSU, Le’otis applied to City Year Jacksonville and was selected to be a first year Team Leader. He was awarded as the 2018 Eli J. Segal National Bridge Builder and AmeriCorps Member of the Year by City Year. He is passionate about working to better the experience of “at risk” youth. Many kids growing up with lower socioeconomic statuses are often written off or looked down upon unless they are one of the “exceptional” kids who deserve a chance. He wants to create a system that allows kids, even the ones who make mistakes and end up in the system, to have a fighting chance to discover and utilize their potential to be successful despite what their circumstances might be. He seeks to do this on two fronts, through advocating for juveniles as a juvenile defense attorney and as advocating for academic and juvenile justice reform.