Nicole A. Johnson

Nicole A. Johnson, Owner, Extraordinary Changes, an organizational development consulting firm, has over twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership, program development, and resource development. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of We Need Diverse Books and she also served as Senior Director
for Elev8 Baltimore, a full-service community schools initiative. In that role, she successfully planned a strategy to integrate learning, health, and family support services into the operations of four schools in East Baltimore. Over a seven-year period, she transitioned the initiative from start-up to sustainability, drawing upon her skills as a facilitator, strategic planner, grant writer, and youth worker.

Nicole has also worked as a director of after-school and summer programs across the country, including the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School. These programs became a platform for her to promote diverse books and literacy to children of color in cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Baltimore. She is also the founder of Baltimore Read Aloud, a local campaign to introduce diverse books to Baltimore City children and youth.