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Sacramento Country Day School

Alumni Core Values Award

Intellectual Discovery • Diversity • Creativity • Compassion • Critical Thinking

Established in 2024, the Core Values Award honors an alum of Country Day whose personal or professional endeavors embody the spirit of one or more of Country Day’s core values. The recipient of the award has demonstrated excellence in the pursuit or advocacy of intellectual discovery, creativity, diversity, critical thinking, and/or compassion. The award is chosen based on nominations from fellow alumni, with the final selection made by Country Day students.

Nominations may be submitted year-round. A recipient is chosen each spring and invited to campus the following fall for presentation of the award and the opportunity to speak with our high-school students.

 

Nominations

We welcome you to nominate a fellow alumni to receive the Core Values Award.

Nominations should reflect the diversity of careers, achievements, and perspectives of the Country Day alumni community, and are reviewed by a selection committee. Once an alum is nominated, the submission will remain on file in the Alumni Office for review each year. Submissions may be updated to reflect new or additional information. 

Submit a Nomination

Core Value Award Recipients

 

In the inaugural year of the Core Values Award, we recognized Amy Johnson, a member of the class of 1995, who passed away in 2024, following a brave battle with cancer. Amy fully embodied the core values of Sacramento Country Day School through a life marked by a dedication to intellectual curiosity, compassion, creativity, and thoughtful leadership.

Amy Johnson’s dedication to Sacramento Country Day’s core values was highly visible in the way she engaged with her community. Ever-proud of her time spent at Country Day and all she received from it, Amy gave generously of her time and energy, working for a period as the school's alumni director and yearbook adviser, and volunteering as the 50th Anniversary Reunion co-chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees. She believed in building strong communities and worked to ensure others felt seen, supported, and inspired. 

In her professional life, Amy demonstrated Country Day’s core values on a daily basis. As co-founder and later CEO of Skyline Scaffold, she led with critical thinking, objectivity, and compassion in an industry where few women held leadership roles.

Amy's legacy lies in her character — her tireless self-reflection, objective thinking, and unwavering generosity. She sought to understand before acting and uplifted everyone around her. Honoring Amy with this award recognizes a life lived with clarity, courage, and heart.

 

This year, Country Day High School students recognize Donald James, a member of the class of 1975, who served as NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education until his retirement from federal service in March of 2017.

Donald James worked in a variety of roles at NASA, from intern to associate administrator, and, in each stage of his 35-year professional career, embodied Country Day’s Core Values of Intellectual Discovery, Diversity, Creativity, Compassion, and Critical Thinking. Surrounded by “smart people doing cool science,” Donald’s mission was to inspire the next generation of explorers, reaching out to students across the country and encouraging them to pursue careers in science and engineering. 

In retirement, Donald continues to inspire young people to reach their goals. His book, Manners Will Take You Where Brains and Money Won't: Wisdom from Momma and 35 Years at NASA, was published in 2021, and reflects on his personal experiences to assert that success in life is driven by character and how we treat others. Donald enjoys supporting high school and college students as they consider their futures, especially in STE(A)M-related fields. He will visit the Country Day campus this fall to speak with High School students about NASA, authenticity, respect, and integrity.