JD Johnson

J.D. Johnson is native of Petersburg, Virginia. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University for her undergraduate studies where she majored in Psychology, African American Studies, and Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies. It was here that JD cultivated her passion for justice and refined how to will her deep care for all. Through her work with integrating poetry into therapy, JD realized that rehabilitation was addressing the symptom(s) instead of the root cause(s). Therefore, JD’s journey led her to Teach For America where she accepted her 2014 corps admission to teach in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Through this experience, JD’s natural leadership became refined and unlocked her strengths in coaching and integrating empathy into structural decisions to create new narratives of how to lead. Thus, leading JD to join TFA staff. During JD’s tenure, she has coached and developed novice teachers from summer programming intensives to yearlong development in pursuit of licensure. More recently, she sits in the role of Director, Teacher Leadership Development in Tulsa. In addition, JD obtained her Master of Education from Johns Hopkins University. Within TFA, JD served as a former Black Summit Co-Chair and currently serves as the National Black Women’s Resource Group Leader. She is also a board member of Young Lyfe- North Tulsa, and partners with District Management Group as a performance coach. Of all the roles and titles, she has held, the most precious titles are being a daughter, sister, niece, godmother, and friend. Her family’s motto is, “If I can help someone along the way then my living shall not be in vain.” This motto is both her guider and grounder in pursuing liberation for all people and generations to come.