Dr. Fatima Lawson Named a Bush Fellow; Earns Prestigious Mental Health Award

Congratulations to Highwood Hills Elementary School principal Dr. Fatima Lawson for earning a pair of prestigious honors. This week, Dr. Lawson was named a Bush Fellow. Additionally, she earned an award from the African Mental Health Summit, themed “Borders, Belonging, and Well-Being: Building Thriving African Diaspora Communities Through Mental Health Justice.”

The Bush Fellowship is a self-designed leadership program that gives individuals the flexibility they need to develop their own capacity to lead effectively.

Bush Fellows are people who make things happen—and oftentimes, change wouldn’t have happened without them. They also are at a point in their lives where they know what they need to grow their capacity to lead, and they have a plan for how to do it. A Bush Fellowship provides them with the time and resources to put their Fellowship plan into action.

Up to 30 Bush Fellows are selected each year to receive up to $150,000 to support their self-designed leadership plan. Fellowships are for up to two years.

The African American Mental Health recognition celebrates Dr. Lawson’s outstanding leadership, service and commitment to advancing community well-being, equity and mental health advocacy.

“My work at Highwood Hills Elementary, A Polytechnic Program School and the larger community has always been driven by the belief that educational excellence is inseparable from mental well-being and a true sense of belonging,” said Dr. Lawson. “This award is not just a personal honor, but a testament to the resilience of our community and the vital importance of Mental Health Justice in our schools.”