Ayannah Johnson is a first-generation college graduate from Union, NJ. In 2012, she earned a B.A. in Communication from Kean University, where she also began her career in higher education. Beginning as a Resident Assistant in undergrad, her roles spanned multiple departments, including Residence Life, Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs. She spent her last higher education position as an Academic Advisor at New Jersey City University and taught First Year Seminar. After shifting from a career in higher education, Ayannah interned at the MLK Youth Empowerment Conference, a nonprofit providing leadership & and diversity training to K-12 students, faculty, and staff. During her internship, she found interest in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Learning about implicit bias, micro-aggressions, and the importance of DEI, motivated her to change career paths to something she felt was more meaningful. Shortly after, she began her career in DEI as the first Director of Programming and Recruitment for the MLK Youth Empowerment Conference.

In 2018, she earned her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Peter’s University. She continued her DEI work at The Ceceilyn Miller Institute for Leadership and Diversity, serving as their Director of DEI. While at the Miller Institute, she also founded the Black Students Lead conference, a safe space for Black student leaders & and allies to learn and develop leadership skills, as well as a network with other like-minded students from across the country. To further her goal of expanding and strengthening DEI across multiple sectors, Ayannah founded Johnson and Associates Consulting LLC in 2020. Her firm, a DEI consulting group that provides strategic planning and implementation, has allowed her to travel the country presenting DEI topics in over 30 states. She remains CEO and works with schools, nonprofits, and corporations.

Today, Ayannah is the Senior Director of Inclusion and Strategic Operations at Ogilvy. Her role includes working with leaders to ensure they are including equity in decision-making, as well as making sure employees feel seen and heard.