She was honored with a Best Collaboration Award for the Trauma-Informed Transformation Committee, and the Behavioral Health Bureau High Jumper Award.
CHICAGO, IL, November 14, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Patricia Therese Johnson, MSHC, has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process. Ms. Johnson is grateful for the wonderful parenting received by her father Mr. Albert Johnson, and her mother, Mrs. Joanna A. Johnson, and a host of selfless mentors along the way. Ms. Johnson enjoys serving and her faith in God and love for Jesus Christ are at the forefront of her life.
Leveraging more than two decades of excellence in servanthood within social services and educating populations, public health management, and communication. Ms. Johnson has earned distinction as a Public Health Administrator III in the Office of Mental Health Operations for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and had the fortunate opportunity to work in all three offices within the Behavioral Health Bureau. Ms. Johnson made huge strides in the Office of Violence Prevention and the Office of Substance Use and Recovery. In her role, she serves as a program monitor and has managed multiple organizations offering diverse services, including all levels of care in the field of substance use, in addition to primary prevention, harm reduction, and shelter-based care initiatives for people experiencing homelessness, and individuals seeking asylum. She oversees programs and tracks the progress of each organization, ensuring they are effectively carrying out their work. Additionally, she monitors delegate agencies funded to provide comprehensive crisis response programs for people living with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring disorders and serves as a member of the CDPH Mental Health Safety Net Coordination team.
Also dedicated to civil advocacy, Ms. Johnson is a member of the City Club of Chicago, the Worldwide Women's Association, West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders, the West Side Opioid Heroin Task Force, and the South Side Opioid Heroin Task Force. Ms. Johnson's extensive involvement in these organizations reflects her commitment to social and community issues, particularly in the context of addressing substance use and supporting women's rights. Ms. Johnson plays an active role in civil advocacy and community development.
Ms. Johnson volunteers for the annual Recovery Walk and Olympics hosted by the Illinois Association of Extended Care (IAEC) and Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition (CRCC), the Multi-Agency Resource Center for New Arrivals, City of Chicago (CoC) Homeless Services team Point-In-Time count, and the CoC Budget Engagement Forum. Ms. Johnson's active participation in these events and organizations exemplifies a strong commitment to community service and advocacy for priority populations in Chicago and Illinois.
Among her professional accomplishments, Ms. Johnson received recognition for her outstanding contribution to the organization as the Chairperson for the South Suburban Action Conference, Lively Souls task force for the aging population and people living with disabilities, Maryville Academy employee of the month on multiple occasions, named Scholar of the Year by Healthy Families Chicago, and a six-time Shining Star Award recipient for CDPH. Added to these, she was honored with a Best Collaboration Award for the Trauma-Informed Transformation Committee, a Behavioral Health Bureau High Jumper Award, and the 2022 Trauma Informed Care Champion Award from CDPH.
Additionally, Ms. Johnson is proud that her work in the field of opioid education has garnered recognition in the Chicago Tribune for distributing fentanyl test strips to stem overdoses, and FOX News, where she was interviewed for her role in spearheading the innovative partnership between the Chicago Public Library (CPL) and CDPH. Ms. Johnson provided training to CPL employees who volunteered to receive education on opioid overdose for awareness. Anyone can walk into a Chicago Public Library and obtain Narcan for free! Harm reduction education sessions were also made available for patrons. During the summer of 2019, Ms. Johnson was appointed as the initial lead for the Narcan at CPL initiative by working with branch managers who received harm reduction training and materials to display at their locations. Due to the pandemic, the initiative was temporarily placed on pause. Fortunately, it was relaunched in 2021.
In 2022, Ms. Johnson was asked to be the keynote speaker on International Overdose Awareness Day for Transforming Reentry Services. In August of 2023, Ms. Johnson was selected to be one of the educators to provide harm reduction training at the Cook County Department of Corrections, a partnership established by the South Side Heroin Opioid Task Force. Ms. Johnson trained staff and individuals in custody (detainees). Since 2018, Ms. Johnson trained over 2,000 people on how to administer Narcan, continues to provide harm reduction training and is working with a team of other skilled harm reductionists who are equally passionate about saving lives.
Before embarking on her professional journey, Ms. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Illinois State University (ISU) in 1999. During her undergraduate years, she focused on ways to address social problems among diverse populations. Ms. Johnson traveled to Ghana West Africa twice where she studied abroad with a program called Connections International and conducted a field study about the Ashanti people and the Ghanaian way of life. Ms. Johnson was selected to present her work at the undergraduate research symposium at ISU. As an extra-curricular activity, Ms. Johnson became a radio personality and a host for a show called, "Bustin Out" for the ISU student radio station, 103.3 FM, WZND. She also worked in promotions and created voiceovers for public service announcements and several commercials.
Ms. Johnson was an actor "edutaining" populations on ways to cope with social challenges that plagued communities. She performed in productions to bring awareness to HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and substance use and became the Executive Director of Odyssey, a performing arts guild, formerly housed at the Boulevard Arts Center in the Englewood community area located in Chicago. Odyssey received an award from the Common Ground Foundation, presented by Academy-Award Winning Artist, Actor, and Author, COMMON. Ms. Johnson also served as a director and a performance coach for Teen Star Theatre under the umbrella of Prevention Force Family Center. Ms. Johnson performed at The Second City Donny's Sky Box Theatre Chicago in a sold-out production called Nommo Remote Control that ran for four consecutive weeks, she captured the attention of audiences across many main stages.
At the height of the pandemic, Ms. Johnson applied to graduate school in 2020 and attained a Master of Science in Health Communication from Northwestern University in 2021. Eminently qualified in her field, she is certified in adult Mental Health First Aid by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. She is also a valued member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for Health Communication, and other organizations in her profession. Ms. Johnson completed a community scholars program at the Northwestern University Division of Public Health Practice in the winter of 2023.
Ms. Johnson intends to broaden her communication skills by learning American Sign Language (ASL), ensuring individuals in the community who are hearing impaired are included as part of the audience for her educational initiatives, and her dedication to providing inclusive and accessible health education. Some of Ms. Johnson's favorite things to do include taking road trips, participating in 5K walks/runs, making people laugh, bowling, playing board games, and family Uno night!
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