Sharise Johnson

Founder & CEO, SMJ Communications

Sharise Johnson was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and attended college at Hampton University in Hampton, VA, where she majored in Broadcast Journalism and Spanish. She has nearly 15 years of experience in communications, particularly in internal and external communications management, public relations, print, broadcast, and social media, serving Fortune 100 corporations and educational institutions.

Prior to founding SMJ, Sharise served as the Senior Director of Communications for a school district based in Texas. In this role, Sharise stewarded the district's brand locally and nationally by spearheading an effective and innovative internal and external communications strategy. Additionally, Sharise served as the Managing Director of National Communications for Teach For America, a Communications Manager at Atlanta Public Schools and managed corporate communication strategy and implementation for major campaigns and announcements at AT&T.

Sharise currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband and daughters, Faith and Grace. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, kickboxing, yoga, spending time with family and friends, and participating in community service projects as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.