Life & Work with Dr. April Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. April Johnson.

Hi Dr. Johnson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all began while sitting in my childhood room, pouting about being confused, sad, and saying I do not know what to do in life. High school graduation was over. I received some college acceptance letters, and I had a military recruiter in my ear, but now that the excitement of senior year died down, I realized that decisions from that point on would affect the rest of my life.

My mom did the best thing a mom could do and told me that when I was finished pouting, get a piece of paper, and write all the things or goals I would like to accomplish. She said to make columns indicating the pros and cons of each. Then decide what to do and do not come out of the room until I do. So I did. I enlisted into the United States Air Force as a guaranteed member of the Security Police, later renamed Security Forces. In the academy, I met the love of my life, John Banks, a member of the United States Marine Corps Military Police. John and I were separated by military orders and moved forward with different lives. Toward the end of my enlistment, I retrained in another Air Force Specialty called Military Personnel.

After six total years of service, I was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force with a government-issued spouse and three beautiful babies. When I separated from service, I went into the Human Resources field as it is equivalent to military personnel, and stayed in the field for over fifteen years. Counseling individuals while in Human Resources and attending school, I realized my purpose was in clinical counseling. So, my studies were directed toward psychology, receiving my BA in Psychology, then in professional counseling, receiving my MS in Counseling Psychology, and then I began to focus more on the populations I served, leading to obtaining a doctorate of social work (DSW). I reconnected with the love of my life from whom duty and service once separated us after my children’s father and I were divorced. John and I have been reunited for three years and have pledged to spend the rest of our lives together, sharing a vision of fulfilling our purpose of servitude. John is the President of The Genesis Project Ministries of Florida which is in partnership with the organization I founded, Genesis HOPE Inc.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Along with life’s ups and downs, there were challenges in transition due to maintaining a family, health issues, and divorce. It was often hard to participate or ensure accessibility for school meetings, band concerts, soccer, and football games and tournaments, anime or art club, Girl Scout meetings and outings, church or band camp, help with science projects or driving to doctor’s appointments and finally college dorms, for three kids, while attending school myself and maintaining a full-time job. Hey, no complaint here. It’s called parenthood. In my case, it was motherhood and I enjoyed every bit of it. After the divorce of my children’s father, I was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation, lost all of my hair, and had to have reconstruction surgery. Although experiencing biopsychosocial and spiritual imbalances, my resilience, faith, and perseverance kept me resilient yet humble and allowed me to persevere through all the barriers and obstacles that came along. I am beyond blessed with a loving family, the man that l love and admire with all of my heart and who loves me with all of his heart, the three awesome children I birthed, and five more children I inherited from my love, a momma that has been there through it all, beautiful nieces and nephews that are like my own, and a faithful loving God. Remembering my “struggle” and knowing that I made it through, knowing that everyone has their own “struggle” and asking how I can be an instrument of their peace. Although my journey was not easy, it has been a blessing, and each encounter has been a stepping stone and equipped me for the next segment of my life.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Doctor of Social Work (DSW), Clinical Director at Childhelp Inc. and Plan-It Life Inc., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Director and Founder of Genesis HOPE Inc., Adjunct Professor of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California Baptist University, and a United States Air Force Veteran. I am known for my work and relationships with non-profit organizations, working with abused, neglected, and at-risk children, my leadership strengths, education, evidence-based practices, and engagement with students, colleagues, and community members.

As the Director/Founder of Genesis HOPE Inc., after research, and community-based engagement, I designed, developed, and implemented a virtual resource directory called “Make Nutrition Your Intention” found at www.Nutritionyourintention.health that consists of a list of providers and resources for vulnerable communities and communities of color to help achieve food security and maintain whole-body wellness. My continued role is to educate about the effect that nutrition has on mood and mental health through continuous updates of the “Make Nutrition Your Intention” website. Secondly, to assist with improving and empowering the lives of children by providing resources and access to quality mental health services. And lastly, to seek to identify healthy, innovative solutions that support diversity, equity, and inclusion aiming toward systemic change.

What sets me apart from others is my perseverance, faith, and resilience. I have been knocked down many times but I keep getting back up. Waking up gives me a reason to keep moving. To help start my day or decrease anxiety, I will sometimes (and often encourage others to) take a big breath through my nose while imagining my favorite flower, which is a hydrangea quercifolia (smells like honey and vanilla). Then I blow the breath out through my mouth while imagining and pretending to blow a dandelion and watching all the pretty white seeds fly aimlessly in the wind (making a wish or prayer about having a positive day).

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
As a child, I was very unique and ambitious. I liked learning new things and participating in many activities. I was a team player but was also okay with individual activities. I was good at earning and saving money and storing food. I would always separate my food (and still do) so it would not touch my plate. I loved to tap dance, especially at school talent shows, participate in ballet and jazz recitals, read books, write poetry, school, act in plays, go on girl scouting excursions, sign up for contests (which I often won), participate in the science fair, fundraisers, and playing competitive sports. I was an easygoing child that generally got along with everyone but was quick to defend others and myself for moral or ethical causes. I was very obedient and I had to have perfect attendance and good grades in school. I was often bullied for being “dark-skinned” but these micro-aggressions based on my skin tone resulted in me having ‘thick skin’ and learning to overcome this treatment. If you ask my mother this question, she would say I was a “nerd” but I beg to differ, haha!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nutritionyourintention.health/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=12e8yp6nht30j&utm_content=phsj208
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/dr-april-johnson-dsw-lmft-313729176
• Other: https://genesishopeinc.org/

Image Credits
John Banks Richard Johnson