Nicholas Johnson, M.S.,
Washington DC,DC
Summary
Skilled Racial Equity and Restorative Justice professional enthusiastic about supporting advancements in the socio-economic conditions of marginalized communities. Passionate about increasing knowledge to drive growth and needed improvements. Ready to apply knowledge of 10+ years of experience in research, facilitation, and program management. Dynamic Director oversees every facet of policy analysis with strong project management and decision-making skills. Brings comprehensive knowledge of production writing, planning, and technical operations. Skilled at coordinating production plans and personnel resources to complete work under tight deadlines.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Founder & Executive Director
Culturally Rooted Reformations LLC
01.2017 - Current
- Work collaboratively with clients to pinpoint assessment indicators and build action plans for preferred outcomes for inclusive leadership development
- ·Collaborate with partners to evaluate policies and implement anti-racism and anti-oppression frameworks.
- Provide technical support to staff with the necessary resources to carry out duties successfully.
- Facilitated programming by coordinating resources and deliverables between departments.
- Provided exceptional customer service to program participants through prompt response times and attentive assistance with inquiries or concerns.
- Organized and managed program development from conception through successful execution.
- · Utilizes a global framework for consulting and facilitating processes for racial and social equity
Researcher
The Africa Center For Strategy And Policy
09.2022 - Current
- Co-researcher in the African Political Economy Lab
- Prepare quarterly reports on socioeconomic developments in West & Central Africa
- Work with other lab researchers to create an analysis of foreign investment and environmental conditions
Racial Equity Consultant
Institute For Community Inclusion
08.2020 - Current
- Established trusted partnerships with key industry influencers, expanding the company's network of resources and contacts.
- Implemented best practices to optimize clients'' organizational performance, leading to improved operational efficiency.
- Facilitate the formation and mission development of an anti-racist steering committee
- Work alongside executive leadership to identify areas of strategic impact and direct resources for anti-racism initiatives
- Conducted regular reviews of operations and identified areas for improvement.
- Collaborated with relevant organizational and community stakeholders to define, strategize, and implement strategies for equity
- Generated reports detailing findings and recommendations.
Board Member
Promoting Liberation To Underserved Groups
08.2021 - Current
- Led the organization’s development of programs to facilitate community resource distribution.
- Design and implementation of community engagement strategies
- Identity, write , and organize organizational materials for grant writing
Research Assistant/ Facilitator
New England Institute For Native American Studies
08.2020 - Current
- Design and develop training for AARP insurance service providers on equitable engagement with elders in the Native American/Alaskan Indian communities in the New England area.
- Identify organizational policy needs to better serve the elders in the area, according to their specific context
- Interview specialists and clients of Boston-based Native American healthcare providers to review needs and gaps.
- Work in collaboration with the team focusing on elder services for other racially excluded communities, to identify parallels in the experiences of AARP policy gaps
Executive Board Member
Voices Of Liberation
03.2019 - Current
- Co-lead in working with local communities in identifying resource needs related to systemic disparities
- Create sustainable relationships with local partners for the organization of resources for distribution in local hotspots.
- Designed and implemented resource distribution strategies, for community stakeholders and also served as a lead grant writer.
Consultant
The SHIFT Initiative W/ The Nature Conservancy
07.2022 - 10.2023
- Collaboratively designed programming series on the intersection of climate change and racial justice for the Nature Conservancy Network of partners
- Co-facilitate workshops and organize guest presenters on the political ecology of Indigenous and Afro-Descendant communities in the Global South
- Synthesize data points for distribution amongst global partners’ networks
Researcher/ Facilitator
Sustainable Solutions Lab
11.2021 - 08.2023
- Conduct research on the relationship of land use in Boston to climate change and racial disparities
- Lead author of final report presented to Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu
- Partner with Embrace Boston & Boston Green Ribbon Commission to develop findings into a report for policy recommendations to the Mayor’s Office for the support of local reparations initiatives
- ·Organize and facilitate bi-weekly town halls with community stakeholders to weigh in on land use/climate change issues and provide updates on the report.
- Synthesized data and wrote detailed reports to present research findings to stakeholders.
- Performed accurate quantitative analysis of targeted data research, collection and report preparation.
Restorative Justice Facilitator
Pillars Of Peace
05.2013 - 08.2023
- Engage with individuals, groups, and organizations on strategies for conflict resolution and the implementation of practices to sustain communication and accountability
- Research innovations to Restorative Justice practices and utilize Afro-centric ideologies that allow for the inclusion of other cultural practices
- Use systemic frameworks to address harm and identify new pathways for reconciliation between affected parties
- Consult in the design of organizational policy that can utilize restorative justice frameworks that consider the impact of historical trauma on contemporary issues.
- Promoted continuous learning within the organization by sharing best practices and lessons learned from various facilitation experiences.
- Researched and analyzed individual parties' positions to understand dispute background.
- Facilitated dialogue between participants, family and program workers to provide best possible program and individualized program.
- Developed customized training materials, enhancing participant comprehension and retention of key concepts.
Action Civics Education Coordinator
Camp Harbor View
06.2018 - 08.2021
- Develop and implement a curriculum on civic engagement through a social justice lens
- Facilitate workshops, programming, and activities on political and social education
- Emphasized expansion of leadership abilities and social consciousness of 136 students
Program Manager
Anti-Racism Collaborative
06.2018 - 12.2020
- Lead developer and coordinator on “Race in a Global Context” curriculum
- Co-Facilitate public course on “Understanding Systemic & Structural Racism”
- Work alongside a network of facilitators in designing and facilitating anti-racist pedagogy; both systemic & interpersonal
- Train and consult organizations seeking various levels of education in race and class dynamics with societal repercussions
- Co-led committee for organizational restructuring with the implementation of new liberation methodology and mechanisms.
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Home For Little Wanderers, Inc
09.2019 - 02.2020
- Develop and enhance institutional programs with a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Partner with The Home’s leaders to provide insights, resources, tools, and actions that increase the organization’s focus on driving action that promotes racial equity and social inclusion.
- Provide strategic vision and leadership to forge a diverse, equitable and inclusive community, culture and climate.
- Design and lead agency-wide assessment to identify structural areas in most need of impact.
Graduate Fellow
Grassroots International
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Assist in the development of West Africa & Haiti Solidarity program, including the development of frontline partnerships
- Traveled to Nigeria as an official organizational delegate to Nigeria’s National Summit on Water as a Human Right
- Document site visits with partners in West Africa, recording examples and testimony of environmental, political, and social injustice
- Wrote grants for West African and Middle Eastern partners under the direction of Solidarity Program officers.
- Organized monetary collections via a giving circle to write grants for social justice grassroots organizations specializing in agriculture and education.
- Provided a political education component on human rights and social movements, to donors & raised over 300,000+ dollars for grant distribution.
Education
Ph.D. - Global Inclusion & Social Development
University of Massachusetts - Boston
Boston, MA12.2024
Master of Science - Global Studies & International Relations
Northeastern University
Boston, MA08.2019
Bachelor of Arts - International Studies / Human Communication Studie
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, PA12.2016
Skills
- Study design
- Project Management
- Cross-Functional Teamwork
- Research presentation
- Data collection and organization
- New System Implementation
- Staff Management
- Interview techniques
- Driving Decision Making
- Resource Management
- Active Listening
- Methodology Selection
- Leading Focus Groups
- Self-Driven and Motivated
- Proposal Preparation
- Fieldwork experience
- Qualitative Analysis
- Interpreting Results
- Report Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Policy analysis
- Program Management
- Team building
- Multitasking
- Legislative tracking techniques
- Community resource management
- Cultural Humility
- Community Outreach
- Report Preparation
- Conflict Mediation
- Conflict resolution skills
- Consensus Building
Certification
- “Social & Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel”, via Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative ( October 2020)
- "Protecting Human Research Participants” via National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research (October 2021)
- Restorative Justice, Conflict Mediator”, Via Pillars of Peace, LLC (February 2018)
- End of Life Doula – Certified by the International End of Life Association (April 2022)
Timeline
Researcher
The Africa Center For Strategy And Policy
09.2022 - Current
Consultant
The SHIFT Initiative W/ The Nature Conservancy
07.2022 - 10.2023
Researcher/ Facilitator
Sustainable Solutions Lab
11.2021 - 08.2023
Board Member
Promoting Liberation To Underserved Groups
08.2021 - Current
Racial Equity Consultant
Institute For Community Inclusion
08.2020 - Current
Research Assistant/ Facilitator
New England Institute For Native American Studies
08.2020 - Current
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Home For Little Wanderers, Inc
09.2019 - 02.2020
Executive Board Member
Voices Of Liberation
03.2019 - Current
Graduate Fellow
Grassroots International
01.2019 - 01.2020
Action Civics Education Coordinator
Camp Harbor View
06.2018 - 08.2021
Program Manager
Anti-Racism Collaborative
06.2018 - 12.2020
Founder & Executive Director
Culturally Rooted Reformations LLC
01.2017 - Current
Restorative Justice Facilitator
Pillars Of Peace
05.2013 - 08.2023
Ph.D. - Global Inclusion & Social Development
University of Massachusetts - Boston
Master of Science - Global Studies & International Relations
Northeastern University
Bachelor of Arts - International Studies / Human Communication Studie
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
- “Social & Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel”, via Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative ( October 2020)
- "Protecting Human Research Participants” via National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research (October 2021)
- Restorative Justice, Conflict Mediator”, Via Pillars of Peace, LLC (February 2018)
- End of Life Doula – Certified by the International End of Life Association (April 2022)
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