djohns22@nul.org
Speaker Bio
Dr. David J. Johns leads the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+, and same gender loving (LGBTQ+/SGL) people. From 2013-2017, Dr. Johns served as the first executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, appointed by President Barack Obama. He was a senior education policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions under the leadership of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow in the office of Congressman Charles Rangel. Dr. Johns was named to the Out 100 list in 2021, the Root 100 in 2013 and 2014, and Ebony’s Power 100 in 2015.