Tammy Johnson
Tammy Johnson paves the way in youth development with her academic and personal experiences.
Tammy Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of Empowering the Masses. With over 22 years of experience in the education and medical field, she founded Empowering the Masses based on her own experiences. Growing up as a child in a disadvantaged environment, Tammy’s family lacked access to basic nutrition, educational opportunities, and a positive environment. This cycle continued into Tammy’s teens when she became a teenaged mother. While this may seem like a detour on some people’s paths, this actually helped to put Tammy back on track. With no income or access to health insurance, Tammy was sent a social worker and told to apply for Medicaid. While sitting in the Dallas County Health and Human Services waiting room, Tammy saw too much familiarity with how she grew up in the faces of those around her. It was in that waiting room that Tammy saw a sign that changed her life. The sign read “Your grandmother was on public assistance and your mother too, when will the cycle end?” That was the moment Tammy decided to end the pattern of generational poverty, and she made a vow that her children would never go hungry or not have their basic needs met.
In addition to her role as the Founder and Executive Director of Empowering the Masses, Tammy, a wife and mother, is also an Adjunct professor for Dallas college in the Continuing Education Department where she teaches a wide variety of courses and certifications, ranging from Phlebotomy to EKG Tech, Community Health Worker to Patient Care Technician. She loves encouraging her students to look past their current situation and uses her own personal experiences growing up as a way to relate to and motivate them.
In Her Own Words
What is your favorite quote?
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” —Madam C.J. Walker.
Who is your favorite woman fundraiser or philanthropist of color?
Dr. Froswa’ Booker- Drew from the State Fair of Texas
What inspired you to pursue a career in education and the medical field promoting financial literacy and educational services to underserved communities?
This was born out of my own experience as a child who was not exposed to a paradigm of excellence. I now know the importance of exposure to things beyond what you see. If we can expose more children to resources in the community, what a better world we will have.
We cannot to continue to work in silos. Everything’s better when we work together.
Where do you want to be in 3 years?
I would like to travel the world speaking to women about my story. One that is so familiar to many- a story of pain, turbulence and triumph. Telling the story of everything that I ever experienced, good or bad, and how I now know that it all was processing me to be the woman that I am now. I was being processed to change the world. Encouraging women to know that they are being processed, that every day that they open their eyes- they have an opportunity to make a difference.
Do you have any advice for other women of color fundraisers— whether they are in Canada, the United States, or the international WOC community at large?
Please share your experience with your sisters who are trying to change lives in their communities. Let them know your experiences. Continue to create networks of peers that you can rely on for advice and professional development. Look for other women to mentor and continue to raise the visibility of women of color doing amazing work to change the lives of their neighbors. We cannot to continue to work in silos. Everything’s better when we work together.
