Roshun Austin was one of five children who grew up in a poor, drug-infested neighborhood in Memphis. Some basics — like food — weren’t guaranteed for Austin and her siblings, but her parents always emphasized the importance of both learning and giving back.

“No matter how poor we were, we were always able to help someone else,” she said.

Against the odds, Austin earned straight A’s in school and was a spelling bee champion. When she graduated from high school in Tennessee, she traveled halfway across the country to Middlebury College in Vermont.

She started studying biochemistry. “Being a physician was successful in my community,” she explained. She quickly realized, however, that she was a born advocate.

“I liked the idea that one day all children would have equal access to a quality education,” she said. “Education had opened so many doors to me.”

She taught in Louisiana for two years as a Teach For America (TFA) corps member.

“I recognized myself in each of the little girls and boys in classrooms across America who had less than quality education and a lack of access to resources that could make all the difference,” she said.

She was inspired by her experience as a teacher, but she realized she wanted to work with people in Memphis, where she grew up.

She went home, where she graduated with a master’s degree in urban anthropology at the University of Memphis. Today, Austin is the chief operating officer of St. Andrew African Methodist Episcopal Church and the President/CEO of The Works, a community development corporation serving children and families in South Memphis, where Austin runs the after school program.

“My dream was that kids wouldn't have to go hungry, that kids wouldn't have to go without light, that kids would have equal opportunities, but I didn't know how to put that all that together,” she said. “TFA taught me how to actualize some of those things.”