Speaker:
Dr. Karen A. Johnson, perhaps best known as an inspiring, authentic, servant leader who keeps it real and 100, has decades of experience in both managerial and leadership roles in the non-profit sector and in federal and state government. Before serving as the inaugural Director of the Washington State Office of Equity, she served as the first Equity & Inclusion Administrator for the Washington State Department of Corrections responsible for increasing awareness and incorporating equity, diversity, inclusion, and respect throughout the agency and the direct supervision of the Civil Rights Investigations team and the Recruitment teams responsible for hiring correctional officers and hard-to-fill medical profession positions.
Ironically, after gaining lived experience as an unemployment benefits and food assistance recipient, Dr. Johnson began her career with the Washington State Employment Security Department as an Unemployment Insurance Benefits Trainer where she planned, developed, and delivered training programs to deliver timely payment of UI benefits and a fair and stable UI system. She is credited for helping to design the unit’s first performance management system to meet agency goals. After a reduction in force, she was promoted into the role of Strategic Operations Manager, advising executive leaders on strategic planning and continuous quality improvement related to workforce development.
She later transitioned to the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services, Economic Services Administration, Community Services Division (CSD) as the Strategic Initiatives Executive, providing collaborative leadership for building a respectful, equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplace culture to achieve organizational excellence and results. She is recognized for starting CSD’s RESPECT© culture work. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy, a master’s in public administration, and doctorate in Urban Services. She is a Certified Diversity Executive and member of the 2018 Leadership Women America cohort.
Outside of work, she rests, thinks, reads, and volunteers her time with people, places, and purposes focused on justice.
Dr. J says, “My answer to life’s three critical questions, - why am I here? How will I relate in this context called society, and, what will I leave as a legacy, - is this: I will spend the rest of my days working toward equity and justice for all until justice rolls down as waters. … for generations yet unborn. Shumawish a tipashumawis. Si Dios Quiere. Selah. Ashe or Asé. Shalom. Aleichem shalom. A hui hou, malama pono!”