Certified Nurse Midwife. Entrepreneur. Activist. Philanthropist.

To be a great athlete, one must be dedicated, motivated, and have discipline to be successful. One can also contribute these attributes to being successful in business.  Applying the skills she learned as an athlete to her life and career, Lorna Johnson has accomplished multiple degrees, founded organizations, and more, all while serving communities in need. Not only is Johnson a certified nurse midwife and nurse practitioner, she is also a health care management guru, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist.

Johnson hails from the beautiful island of Jamaica, bred from a family of community leaders and educators. She was encouraged at an early age to pursue higher education and made her studies her first priority. While she focused on school, she took an interest in track and field. She was a natural talent and excelled in the sport. Johnson then moved to Toronto, Canada, where she worked her way through nursing school and graduated with an immediate job offer from White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Johnson left Toronto bringing with her a drive for excellence that she would express through her profession and in the community. She also showed the same drive on the track as a top qualifier for the 100m dash in the Olympic trials for Canada, on Jamaican soil.

While working in Los Angeles she achieved a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from the University of LaVerne. The experience she gained in women’s health, pediatrics, family medicine, psychology, and mental health departments, made her a diverse healthcare practitioner.  Noting the need for better services for women and children she chose to focus her practice on women’s health and pediatrics. Always striving to learn more, Johnson continued her education at the University of Southern California, where she graduated Phi Kappa Phi, with a Master of Science in Nursing and Midwifery, in 1995.

Through her work in Los Angeles, Johnson saw first-hand how a lack of knowledge and proper healthcare can have a debilitating effect on a community. She wanted to make a difference and convinced a local pediatrician that integrating their services could vastly improve the quality of care for patients. The idea proved to be brilliant, and as a result, the Advanced Family Care Medical Group was formed in 1995. Today, this multi-specialty medical practice serves thousands of families from under-served communities every year. The facility also happened to be Johnson’s first real estate investment, which led to many other wise investments, and helped Johnson to become the savvy business woman that she is today.

With this deviation from traditional nursing and the subsequent success of her practice, Johnson helped to open doors that had traditionally been inaccessible to midwives. As one of her goals, she continues to advocate for midwifery to be recognized as a well-regarded profession.  In the face of Johnson’s numerous achievements, including; serving as President of her local Chamber of Commerce, coaching high school athletes, receiving several awards from various organizations and government officials including “Women of Courage” award from Assembly 52^nd District and Supervisor Yvonne Burke, and providing volunteer education and counseling services at schools and health fairs, Johnson still believes she has only scratched the surface in her work.

“ Though I impact a diverse group of people every day, I know that I haven’t made a dent in the healthcare issues that plague our country. Children are suffering from avoidable illnesses as a result of poor eating and health habits. Women are putting themselves in jeopardy for lack of knowledge about their own bodies. And teenagers are playing with fire as they experiment in promiscuous behaviors without understanding the consequences. We must do more. I must do more.”

In 1999, Johnson developed Compassion for Teen Life (CFTL), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing health, nutrition, and well-being education for youths in grades K-12 and their families. The programs of CFTL provide communities the tools to lead them to live productive and healthy lifestyles. Since its inception, CFTL has gifted Johnson’s elementary school in Clarendon, Jamaica with a computer lab; assisted Britain’s Prince of Wales with his foundation’s efforts to rebuild one of the poorest communities in Kingston, Jamaica—the Rose Town Project; provided nutrition and health education to middle and high school students in Los Angeles; offered guidance counseling to hundreds of youths who walk through the doors of the AFC; and provided over $100,000 in scholarships to local youths for higher education.

Johnson’s latest feat, representing Jamaica as the Honorary Consul in Los Angeles, this is yet another example of Johnson’s diligent efforts to improve communities in Los Angeles and Jamaica. She also currently serves on the board of President Obama’s Finance Committee. When Johnson is not serving with the consulate, working in her clinic, mentoring or coaching the youth on health education and/or track and field, conversing with government officials and healthcare professionals, she is advocating for women in leadership. Not only is she living out her dream, she is continuing to connect, educate, and inspire people to want to make a difference.