President and Chief Executive Officer

Shawn Akers serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Journey Academy. He is an attorney and education leader with broad experience providing executive-level leadership to higher education institutions. Before Covenant Journey Academy, Shawn served as the Online Provost of one of the world’s largest Christian universities where he led a team of nearly 3500 faculty and staff during a time of dynamic expansion. He oversaw the creation and development of almost 300 undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate-level academic programs and led online academics as enrollment grew to over 110,000 students.

As the Dean of one of the nation’s largest schools of Government, Shawn directed the creation and launch of its first online programs, its first graduate programs, and its first doctoral programs. During his tenure, the school grew from approximately 700 to 7000 students. In addition to serving as an Online Provost and a Dean, Shawn has served as a Professor of Government, an adjunct law professor, and subject matter expert for many graduate-level courses. In those roles, Shawn created graduate courses in Public Policy Law, Public Policy Lawyering Skills, Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Middle East Law and Policy, Middle East Foreign Policy, Presidential Leadership, Leadership, Statesmanship & Governance, Speechwriting for Candidates and Officeholders, and many others. Many of his students have gone on to intern or work on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and in a wide variety of ministries, law firms, thinktanks, and policy organizations.

Shawn has been a member of the Louisiana Bar for over 22 years and is a former member of the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association (4th JDC). As a litigation attorney, he practiced in the areas of education law and public policy law among other areas. He has advised political candidates and office holders and represented Louisiana’s largest teacher’s association. Shawn holds a bachelor's degree in legal studies, a Master of Arts in Public Policy, and a Juris Doctor. While earning his Juris Doctor, Shawn was a member of the Law Review, published in the Law Review, and served on Trial competition teams.

Shawn has authored a variety of popular and scholarly articles and has spoken nationally and internationally on topics of law, policy, education, and self-governance at events including the Family Leadership Summit carried as part of CSPAN’s Road to the White House series and the President’s Youth Caucus in Macedonia.

He is married to Shanna Akers, a registered nurse and higher education leader.

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