Kaprea F. Johnson, PhD., is a tenured full professor of Counselor Education at The Ohio State University in the Department of Educational Studies, a current licensed professional counselor in Virginia, and a former licensed school counselor in Washington, DC. Dr. Johnson received her B.A. in Psychology from Norfolk State University, M.Ed in Counseling from Howard University and PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from The Pennsylvania State University. Throughout her tenure in academia, Dr. Johnson has served in various leadership positions, including department chair, program director, and track coordinator, as well as faculty-focused leadership positions related to faculty development, research, recruitment and retention. As a school and mental health counselor educator, she has taught counseling and allied health students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Dr. Johnson has also been recognized and awarded for her professional engagement, with the most recent being the David K. Brooks Distinguished Mentor Award (2023), a national award from the American Counseling Association.
Dr. Johnson is a nationally recognized scholar and public-facing academic who is energized by the ability to discover and change inequitable systems to support and serve communities across the lifespan. Her research is focused on creating and evaluating interventions and training healthcare professionals to address the social determinants of health (SDOH), which are non-medical factors, such as food insecurity, discrimination, and healthcare access that influence health and wellness outcomes for all people. As a principal or co-principal investigator, her research is funded through federal, state, and local grants such as the American Heart Association, Health Resources and Services (HRSA), and Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Johnson’s work, research, and collaborations have resulted in three books, with the most recent titled “Developing Anti-Racist practices in the helping professions: Inclusive theory, pedagogy, and application” published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2022; 70 peer-reviewed journal articles; and over 100 speaking engagements internationally and nationally. Outside of academia, Dr. Johnson enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading, art, and community engagement.