Regina Dominican welcomes its latest addition to the faculty, theology teacher James Johnson. 

Johnson has been teaching for eight years, with five years at St Joseph’s and two years at Resurrection High School. They just recently came to teach social justice at Regina Dominican. Johnson is also a Skokie Village Board Trustee who has been involved with social justice work in Skokie.

Johnson grew up in both North Carolina and Virginia. From ages 8-18, they lived in Central America and attended high school in El Salvador. Johnson earned their bachelor’s degree in religion from Davidson College in North Carolina and later, their master’s degree in theology at Chicago’s Loyola University.

Johnson has taught theology for eight years, although they say, “I didn’t go to study to become a teacher; I actually decided at 25, two to three years after college.”

Johnson decided to come to Regina because they could connect their love for justice and acceptance to the Regina Dominican community. 

Johnson enjoys community service and describes it as “getting to do good work with friends.” They have a passion for justice and believe that justice can be very powerful for young students and encourages them to join activism for things they care about. 

In their free time, they enjoy watching movies and participating in activism. Johnson even plays various instruments, such as the base, drums, and guitar.