Deanna Johnson joined UUSC in 2022 as an Impact Storyteller, developing creative media content that tells the stories of UUSC’s partners and the work they do to promote human rights and justice in their communities.

Deanna started her career with the Peace Corps, serving as an English Education Volunteer in a K-12 school south of Quito, Ecuador from 2017-2019. While in the Peace Corps, she primarily worked to build the capacity of the school’s English Department through training in pedagogy, classroom management, and English language proficiency. She also worked on various secondary projects, including the development of Ecuador’s first national gender equity and youth leadership curriculum.  After returning to the Untied States, she served as the Interim Assistant Director for Casa Freehold, a New Jersey organization dedicated to providing assistance and advocacy for undocumented migrants. As Interim Assistant Director, she engaged in case management, community organizing, and advocacy campaigning that included sharing the stories of the organization’s constituents to local government officials, donors, and the general public. Following her time with Casa Freehold and while in graduate school, Deanna worked within Yale University to advocate for and implement programming dedicated to increased diversity, equity, inclusion, and acknowledgment of oppressive structures in education, policymaking, and international development. Most recently, Deanna worked with the Pan American Development Foundation as a Program Coordinator for the organization’s migration portfolio, managing projects promoting the protection, health, and integration of migrants and refugees throughout the Western Hemisphere. Additionally, she worked closely with the organization’s Communications Department to develop mixed media content that showcased the realities of migrant life in various countries of the region.

In 2016, Deanna received her B.A. from the George Washington University with degrees in International Affairs, concentrating in International Development and Anthropology. In 2021, she received her master’s degree from Yale University’s Jackson Institute in Global Affairs concentrating in Inequality and Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean.

djohnson @ uusc.org