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Mike Johnston is the President and CEO of Gary Community Ventures, a Denver based organization that partners with the community to leverage business, policy and philanthropy to reshape the arc of opportunity for Colorado kids and families. He began his career as a teacher in rural Mississippi, which inspired him to write his acclaimed book, ā€œIn the Deep Heartā€™s Core.ā€ He came home to Colorado to work for Third Way as the principal of Joan Farley Academy. The powerful lessons he learned from the residents and staff at Third Way fundamentally changed the way he thinks about the world and informed all the work he has done since. After Third Way he founded a school in Adams county called MESA, that became the first school in Colorado history where 100 percent of seniors graduated from high school and 100 percent were admitted to a four-year college.