During her tenure at NASA, Dr. Johnson held a variety of positions, including managing payloads in the Mission Operations Control Center at Johnson Spaceflight Center, managing the development of Earth orbiting spacecraft, and overseeing NASA’s institutional and informational assets. Since 1994 she twice received Peer Excellence and Spaceship Earth Awards, and is the recipient of the 1998 NASA Headquarters Creative Management Award and the 2007 Cooperative External Achievement Award. In a prior position, Dr. Johnson accepted the challenge to be the advocate and spokesperson for research that advances promising science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) educational concepts and practices. These efforts will help provide today’s students with a path toward rewarding careers in STEM, and will create a workforce capable of exploring the moon, Mars and beyond. In collaboration with ten federal agencies and consultants, Dr. Johnson examined the feasibility of, and developed a strategy for, the use of International Space Station resources and accommodations as a venue to engage, inspire and educate students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The Task Force published reports in December 2006 and February 2008.
Serving people is something Dr. Johnson does regularly and with passion. Her tireless efforts to inspire women to achieve professionally in science and technology have not gone unnoticed. She was named Outstanding Woman of the Decade in 1977 and in Nov. 2005 co-authored a chapter in “Success Strategies of Women in Science.” That devotion to women’s advancement is equaled by her commitment to community work. It is quite common to find her comforting victims of fire, floods, tornados, or hurricanes. She is also an enthusiastic advocate for the homeless, people living with disabilities, and the addicted. In 2004, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation recognized her significant contributions with the Volunteer Service Award. In 2008 NASA featured Dr. Johnson as an unsung hero in its 50th Anniversary Magazine. Dr. Johnson accepted a volunteer position as member of the Texas Woman’s University (TWU) Alumni Advisory Council and in 2012 received the Chancellor Alumni Excellence Award. She has held positions on the TWU Alumni Board and the Delaware State University Aviation Advisory Committee. Recently Dr. Johnson completed her first book, “Right Where I Belong,” to be published by Amazon.
Dr. Johnson began volunteering with the American Red Cross in 2001 in the Northern Virginia office serving on the Volunteer Services and Disaster Action Teams, and in warehousing in Logistics. When Dr. Johnson retired from her job in Washington, DC in 2009, she moved her membership and continued volunteering in Dallas Texas, North Texas Region. Dr. Johnson served first as a volunteer in the Dallas Area Chapter and became an instructor for disaster courses. The Chapter presented her with the Volunteer Leadership Award in June 2010 and the Albina and Bob Young Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2021. For almost four years Dr. Johnson served as the Senior Disaster Program Manager for fourteen North Texas, mostly metropolitan, counties, and is now a proud volunteer. Dr. Johnson served as the Regional Volunteer Lead for Recovery and Shelter Lead for cities in South Dallas and Arlington. She also mentored talented young women within the SWARM Division before moving to the National Capital Region of the American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross Mission and its Fundamental Principles caught my eye when I started in 2001 and the desire to help people in need has never stopped growing. I believe the character and behavior of an organization starts with its leadership. Being a volunteer leader allows me an opportunity to demonstrate how strong leadership and management skills can influence a disaster operation.
