November 11th at 1pm EST
Whitney Johnson was raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She began working in healthcare as a CNA in 2006 and completed her LPN in 2010. Whitney went on to complete an LPN to RN program in 2012 and then her BSN in 2015, before completing her education with her MSN in 2019. She is an ANCC board certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Whitney recently transitioned from clinical practice to take the position of Tribal Liaison/Mental Health Policy and Program Consultant on the American Indian Team at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Prior to this transition from clinical practice, Whitney gained experience in emergency medicine, mental health, substance use, LGBTQ2S+ health, perinatal mental health and community health. She has provided testimony to the National Academy of Medicine and presented at multiple regional nursing conferences on subject matter related to the social determinants of health, forced commercial sex, homelessness and Native American health. She is a 2018 YWCA Woman of the Year (Advocating for Equality) recipient and was given the honor of Outstanding Service Provider by the FM Coalition to End Homelessness in 2021. Whitney served as a member of the Fargo Native American Commission from 2017-2024, three years of which she served as the chair. She is currently board chair for Indigenous Association. Whitney lives with her husband and their children in Moorhead, MN.
