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We are thrilled to announce Reverend Deborah Johnson as our newest member of the Board of Directors.
Reverend Johnson is the founding minister of Inner Light Ministries, an interfaith spiritual community of approximately 3,000 in Santa Cruz, CA. A dynamic speaker known for her ability to bring clarity to complex and emotionally charged issues, Johnson is a convener, organizer, facilitator and trainer in numerous national projects and progressive think tanks working at the intersection of race, religion, sexuality, and public policy. She was inducted into the Board of Preachers of the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College, which honors clergy for their lifetime work in social justice.
Her groundbreaking work has been featured in Showtime’s Jumpin’ the Broom, a documentary featuring African American gay and lesbian couples, Shambhala Sun magazine, NPR’s Tell Me More/Faith Matters regarding Prop 8, and the film God and Gays: Bridging the Gap. She is the author of The Sacred Yes and Your Deepest Intent.
A faculty member of UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management’s Executive Leadership LGBT Diversity Institute and the Holmes Institute of Consciousness Studies, Johnson is a former Board member of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She is also a founding member of the Agape International Spiritual Center, where Michael Beckwith is Spiritual Director.
In 2010 Reverend Johnson participated in a special Pachamama Journey to Ecuador with other US social justice activists, which was a life-changing experience for her. She helped open our 2011 Annual Luncheon by blessing the meal served to attendees. She has made an invaluable contribution to our social justice conversations and thinking, and we are honored to have her.
