BIO: 

Stephanie Anne Johnson received a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Public Policy and Social Change from Union Institute & University in 2013, an MFA degree from UC Berkeley in 1999, and a BFA in Theatre from Emerson College in 1974. Dr. Johnson is a visual artist who exhibits mixed media and slide projection art installations and has had two one-person shows. In the San Francisco Bay Area, her work has been seen at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, The de Young Museum, The Museum of the African Diaspora, and The African American Center for Art and Culture. This work has also been presented at other venues nationally. Johnson is also a lighting designer and second-generation theatre practitioner who has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for over 40 years.Most recently, she has written two plays. Every Twenty One Days: Cancer, Yoga, And Me, a one-woman piece was performed to critical acclaim in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Atlanta. Mrs. Reiff and the Counterfeit Shop is an autobiographical play about the relationship between a Holocaust survivor and a Black teenager.

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Dr. Johnson is researcher with an active interest in the intersection between public policy and public art. She participated in the civic sector for eight years as a Commissioner for the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Commission. Johnson has served as a review panelist for The San Francisco Arts Commission and The City of Berkeley. She is a tenured Professor and founding faculty member in the Visual and Public Art Department. Johnson teaches VPA core, studio and First Year Seminar courses.