Clarissa, Johnson

Clarissa Johnson is from Gallup, NM. Her clans are Naakai Dine’é (Mexican People), Kin Łichíí’nii (Red House), Kin Yaa’áanii (Towering House) and Tó Dích’ii’nii (Bitter Water). She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico, as well as her Master of Arts in Educational Leadership participating in the Promoting Our Leadership, Learning, and Empowering our Nations (POLLEN) cohort that aims to develop Indigenous leadership in educational administration in New Mexico schools working with various tribes across the state.

She has over 13 years of experience in education. After teaching for 9 years, she transitioned into instructional coaching and assistant principal roles at the elementary and middle school levels. Recently, she travelled to Spokane, Washington to present at the National Indian Education Association’s annual conference on the topic of empowering Indigenous student learning through culturally relevant pedagogy with fellow colleagues. Being Navajo, it has remained important for her to establish representation and support for her fellow Indigenous staff, teachers, students, and members of her community.  

In her personal time, she enjoys spending time with her family. She enjoys travelling internationally with her husband and son, hiking, running, walking and being outdoors. She also enjoys listening to music and audiobooks.