A Career Path Dedicated to Community

Having navigated a professional and academic career as one of the only Black women in predominantly white spaces, Dr. Donna Johnson jumped at the opportunity to bring her perspective to the team building Richmond, Virginia’s first hospital that is solely dedicated to kids. “For me, it was really important to contribute to a community that’s trying to move past a history,” says Dr. Johnson. “I saw it as an avenue to help push past the narratives that have plagued the city for a long time.”

With the April 30 grand opening of the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU in the heart of downtown next to city hall, Dr. Johnson can’t help but reflect on how far she’s come. “I’m also just so excited to be a part of something that’s going to give access to kids,” she says. “Previously, if kids were sick and needed more aggressive treatment plans, they had to travel to Washington, D.C., or southern Virginia. Families would have to pick up and move or be apart from their children while they’re going through these life-changing things.”

Having begun in nursing, she transitioned to working behind the scenes building effective hospital units. She recounts enrolling in Walden’s PhD in Health Services Leadership program in 2016 as an effort to spark her next career move. She was on maternity leave at the time. “I think everyone has a unique story regarding how Walden has helped them,” says Dr. Johnson. “In my case, being the workaholic that I am, I went on maternity leave and immediately thought ‘what am I going to do with the next part of my life?’”

From her career in nursing and hospital administration, she was accustomed to interacting in a corporate environment. Walden's emphasis on social change inspired her to interact more broadly and connect with more diverse people in a grassroots way. One way she connected with her community was by serving on the board of directors for the YMCA of Greater Richmond.

She credits the holistic experience at Walden foremost. “I received the clarity, flexibility, and sense of support that I couldn’t find elsewhere,” she says. “Walden was basically telling me ‘you already deserve it’ instead of ‘let’s see if you make it.’”

More specifically, she credits faculty member Dr. Charles Diebold in the School of Psychology for the profound career outlook she has today. “He was the one who really understood that my dissertation [“Exploring Nurse Leader Self-Efficacy, Burnout, and Intent to Leave”] focus was more about human potential,” says Dr. Johnson. “I really wanted to discuss thriving in healthcare during a time where the climate was not conducive for that.”

When Dr. Diebold challenged Dr. Johnson on what made her stand out beyond her dissertation topic, it changed her entire perspective. “It really came down to the passion I already had which was coaching, developing people, and making them believe they could achieve more than what was possible,” says Dr. Johnson. “He gave that gift of realization to me.”

She also commends her committee chair, Dr. Cheryl Anderson, for her continual support while enrolled in the program and post-grad. “I loved walking into an environment where there are people ready and willing to help me succeed,” says Dr. Johnson. “Not the opposite. The general sentiment was always ‘you belong with us.’”

When reflecting on her journey, Dr. Johnson concludes, “I’ve truly loved my job this whole time and not everybody can say that. There may be hard days or stressful days, but I couldn't fathom doing anything else with my life. It’s a real blessing to be able to invest in others. For me, that’s the definition of a nurse.” Dr. Johnson has officially launched her own independent consulting agency, Health Care Wellness, LLC to provide wellness coaching services to health care workers. “Investing in the holistic needs of our healthcare workers is an investment in the community,” she says.

Dr. Donna Johnson (center) receives the Harold L. Hodgkinson award for Outstanding Dissertation.