Melissa Johnson Email & Phone Number

Brooklyn, New York, United States

• Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), NY Organizer
• Manages education programming on police to deportation pipeline and oversees staff and interns to produce Webinars, Know Your Rights (KYR) workshops and program and policy consultation for community, organizations.
• Co-directs Brooklyn mutual aid initiative distributing backpacks and care items supporting 300+ Black asylum seekers
• Leads state and city policy campaigns with allied coalitions around Protect Black Migrants, Housing4All, Divest Reinvest campaigns at NY council hearings, press conferences, and engagement with elected officials and.
• Engages national and international media, shifting narrative messaging on Black migrant, undocumented and asylum seeker experiences -> resulting in 5 major publication features over 2 years (via The Guardian; Prism.
• Administers state messsaging and outreach via in-person and digital communication -> mobilizing 6 large-scale community power-building events in 3 years

Greater New York City Area

• Jamaican Consulate Services Officer, Consulate General of Jamaica, New York, NY
• Administered Foreign Services support to Jamaican Diaspora, Foreign Nationals & Allied Nations for Jamaican Government
• Facilitated daily adjudication of Immigration Documentation: Passports, Citizenship, Visa Services and deployment of Emergency Travel Documents for (33 U.S. States) and (2 Allied Countries), processing up to 500.
• Provided monthly operational assessments for Deputy Consul to increase workflow, productivity and case completion
• Empowered US civil society groups with evidence to drive advocacy and opportunities for Jamaican Nationals
• Conducted daily outreach to advance Immigration document issue awareness and reduce Detention & Deportation

Greater New York City Area

• Program Director, Khan Foundation NYC, Queens, NY:
• Responsible for supervising program operations, student success, family support and staff management resulting in growth of College Access Program throughout three site locations in NYC servicing 100 students
• Defined organization mission and strategized programmatic goals to understand student needs and advance student success
• Created and implemented signature and sustainable curriculum-based programming for KF three core programs: College Access, Career Readiness, and Young Women’s Leadership and Education, optimizing capacity to meet.
• Established monitoring and evaluation program assessment tools to measure program outcomes for yearly goals/success
• Administered Donor Solicitation, Relationship Building and Donor Gift Tracking Coordination increasing funding support

Greater New York City Area

Rockefeller Foundation & NYU Marron Institute: Team Consultancy as Graduate Student Researcher working on International Cities’ Spatial Construction & Connectivity in relation to Economic Inclusiveness. Intervention: Analysis of existing quantitative indicators to identify issues of economic progress in order to assess city inclusivity with community.

Greater New York City Area

Women's Economic Empowerment: Research Team Consultancy as Graduate Student Researcher working on Women’s Rights as Human Rights education campaign using participatory research methods to observe NYC young adults perspectives in order to help UN Women understand the contextual realities and constraints affecting the concept of human rights and its use in.

Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida Area

• Interned for Lead Attorney in Family Law and Criminal Defense cases
• Worked on client cases, recorded trial documents and conducted research on legal precedence for trial preparation
• Assisted Lead Counsel with client interview, trial prep and litigation and mediation proceedings

Greater New York City Area

• Worked directly with Integrated Marketing Team to strategize Essence Branded In-book and Live action programs
• Created independent marketing campaigns for the “Young, Black, and Amazing Initiative” targeted to women ages 18-25
• Participated in advancing off-site Marketing/Sales Meetings with Major Magazine Ad/Sales Clients

Master’S Degree, International Affairs- (Concentration) Governance & Rights, Gpa 3.5

Activities and Societies: (Relevant Course Work): UN & World Order; Advocacy & Global Governance; Monitoring & Evaluation; Qualitative.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Double Major: Sociology & Women Studies, Minor: Dance

Activities and Societies: Co-President Distinguished Women of Color Collective (DWOCC); Senior Admissions Intern; Student Assistant.