Betty Johnson, Med, DSL (currently on leave)

Assistant Dean for Faculty and Staff Diversity, Development Leadership, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Betty Johnson has been working with students as a mentor and counselor for more than 25 years. During a career focused on empowering individuals for academic and career success, Dr. Johnson has guided countless students to strong, independent futures.

Dr. Johnson assumed the role of Assistant Dean for Faculty and Staff Diversity, Development and Leadership at the Harvard Chan School on April 3, 2017. In this position, she helps establish programs and policies that support the recruitment, retention, and success of faculty and staff from underrepresented groups. She also supports departments in the identification of diverse faculty candidates; monitors retention and promotion of underrepresented faculty and staff; and provides professional support and coaching to underrepresented students and staff. Dr. Johnson oversees the Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship program in the Office of Faculty Affairs, with responsibility for overseeing the Program’s strategic development, operations, and finances; and continues to host the Voices in Leadership webcast series, for which she oversaw design, development, and implementation.

In her many years of service to the School, Dr. Johnson has held a variety of leadership positions, including associate director of the Office of Diversity, and associate director of student practice support in the Division of Public Health Practice. She most recently served as director of student and fellow programs in the Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development.

Dr. Johnson previously served as administrative counselor in the Office of Supportive Services at Syracuse University, in Syracuse, New York. After four years in that role guiding and advising students, she rose to become the Office’s associate director, a position she held for 11 years. She then served as director of academic support and testing at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland, for four years, before coming to the Harvard Chan School in 2000 as an administrative fellow for field practice and curriculum development coordinator.