Jovan Denaut has over 20 years of experience in public education. As a Lateral Entry teacher, she taught Social Studies, Reading, English/Language Arts, Forensics, Yearbook, Journalism, and Dance. She was the 2004 Cumberland County School’s Teacher of the Year and the 2005 Sandhills Region Teacher of the Year Runner-Up. Upon joining Central Services, Jovan served as the Mentor Facilitator, Professional Development Facilitator, and Integrated Academic & Behavior Support Facilitator. Presently, she is the Coordinator for Equity and Opportunity. 

For the past eight years, she has worked tirelessly as an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the district. She has led CCS to win three Magna Equity Awards from the National School Board Association: the 2022 Silver Award for Equity-Based Multi-Tiered System of Support, the 2021 First Place Award for Equity-Focused Classroom Management, and the 2021 First Place Award for Mentored Next Steps in Equity.

Prior to teaching in Cumberland County Schools, Jovan was a Humanities and Political Science instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College and taught International Relations and Moral Reasoning at Harvard University. 

Jovan Denaut holds a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Peace, War, and Defense from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Harvard University and is presently working on a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Capella University. 

Jovan Denaut is the published author of a fictitious autobiographical series entitled Descent. The series, which is about the two years she lived in Kerala, India in a Hindu ashram with a famous guru, includes four books: Chasing the Avatar, Dancing with the Avatar, Bound by the Avatar, and Snatched from the Avatar.