By Sylvia Perry
Local education leader and nonprofit CEO Betty Seabrook Burney will assume the role of chair of the Jacksonville Journey Forward Board, succeeding Attorney W.C. Gentry, who resigned unexpectedly to focus on his health after a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Burney, founder and chief executive officer of the I’m A Star Foundation, brings decades of civic engagement and public service to the role. She is a former member and two-time chair of the Duval County School Board and has led her nonprofit since its founding in 2010 to empower youth leadership and address issues such as childhood health, food access and student homelessness.
Gentry, an attorney and longtime public servant, stepped down as chair at the recent board meeting to prioritize treatment and care following his Parkinson’s diagnosis. His leadership helped guide the board through its early work since its launch last year.
The Jacksonville Journey Forward Board is the governing body for Journey Forward, a community-based initiative aimed at addressing root causes of violence and crime in Duval County through prevention, intervention, collaboration and neighborhood strengthening.
The board’s origin traces back to the original Jacksonville Journey, launched in 2008 under former Mayor John Peyton following a high-profile violent crime that galvanized community action. The earlier program was credited with helping reduce violent crime in the city by nearly 40 percent in its first four years. Gentry was a member of the original board and the founding chair of Journey Forward.
In 2024, city leaders reestablished the effort as Jacksonville Journey Forward, governed by an 11-member board that brings together experts from public safety, education, public health, community advocacy and other sectors. Members are appointed by a mix of city and public officials, including the mayor, city council president and the superintendent of schools.
Journey Forward’s mission is to foster safer, stronger neighborhoods by focusing on violence prevention, youth intervention programs, justice system collaboration and community engagement. The initiative’s strategy emphasizes data-driven planning, multi-agency collaboration and deep community involvement to create long-term solutions rather than short-term responses. It has been allocated $2 million from the city for the 2025-2026 year to assist with the initiatives.
The board’s work includes developing comprehensive approaches to juvenile justice diversion, ex-offender reentry, family support services and neighborhood stabilization. Leaders have also discussed allocating funding to local organizations, including literacy and educational programs that research links to long-term crime prevention.
Burney formerly served as the board’s vice chair and has a longstanding commitment to youth and community development. Through the I’m A Star Foundation, she has trained student leaders and mobilized community projects aimed at improving academic achievement and social well-being. Her experience as a former school board chair, where she led efforts to improve chronically low-performing schools, adds policy and governance experience to her new role.
In accepting the chair position, Burney said she looks forward to working with board members and community partners to build on the Journey Forward initiative’s momentum and ensure that Jacksonville’s youth and neighborhoods thrive.