{"id":5248,"date":"2021-07-19T17:57:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/?p=5248"},"modified":"2022-05-10T20:48:16","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T20:48:16","slug":"sickle-cell-disease-association-of-america-announces-new-teen-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/2021\/07\/19\/sickle-cell-disease-association-of-america-announces-new-teen-ambassador\/","title":{"rendered":"Sickle Cell Disease Association of America announces new teen ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-200x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"wp-image-5249 size-medium alignleft\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-600x901.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-682x1024.jpeg 682w, https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-768x1153.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1-1023x1536.jpeg 1023w, https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Ayana-Johnson_med-rotated-1.jpeg 1154w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) named 14-year-old Ayana Lee Johnson the 2021-2023 SCDAA National Teen Ambassador. She was selected through a nationwide competition formerly known as the Poster Child Contest that started in 1976. Her reign will begin with an official coronation during SCDAA\u2019s Annual National Convention Oct. 12-16.<\/p>\n<p>In her role as SCDAA National Teen Ambassador, Johnson will make public appearances and act as an emissary, assisting with education campaigns and securing public and private sector support for the SCDAA mission. She will serve as a goodwill ambassador for SCDAA and be a positive role model for teens and other individuals living with sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSCDAA is thrilled with the selection of Ayana as our new Teen Ambassador,\u201d said SCDAA President and CEO Beverley Francis-Gibson. \u201cHer determination to fight for other SCD warriors and raise awareness of what it is like to live with sickle cell disease to anyone who will listen, along with her sparkling personality, are just a few reasons why she was chosen. She is resilient and determined not to be limited or defined by SCD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson is an honors student at Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Virginia, and she attends the Governor\u2019s School of the Arts. She is a competitive dancer with many national titles and has been accepted into summer intensives with both the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Joffrey Ballet School. Johnson also plays violin and competes in pageants. She currently holds the title of Miss America\u2019s Outstanding Teen Piedmont Region 2020-2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSickle cell disease does not define me,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cI am a warrior living my best life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was featured in Suffolk News Herald\u2019s 20 Under 21, and among her many accomplishments, she is the recipient of the St. Peter Claver Service and Sickle Cell Activism Award; the Making the Difference \u2013 Sickle Cell Champion Warrior Award and Scholarship; and the 2019 Excellence Girls Club Pioneer Award. In 2020-2021, she completed 200 volunteer hours, some of them working as an American Red Cross Blood Drive escort and greeter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) named 14-year-old Ayana Lee Johnson the 2021-2023 SCDAA National Teen Ambassador. She was selected through a nationwide competition formerly known as the Poster Child Contest that started in 1976. Her reign will begin with an official coronation during SCDAA\u2019s Annual National Convention Oct. 12-16. In her role as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sickle Cell Disease Association of America announces new teen ambassador - Sickle Cell Disease Association of America Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sicklecelldisease.org\/2021\/07\/19\/sickle-cell-disease-association-of-america-announces-new-teen-ambassador\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sickle Cell Disease Association of America announces new teen ambassador - Sickle Cell Disease Association of America Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) named 14-year-old Ayana Lee Johnson the 2021-2023 SCDAA National Teen Ambassador. 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