Alexis McGill Johnson


Lori Alexis McGill Johnson is an American businesswoman and abortion rights advocate. She is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood.

Early life and education

McGill Johnson was born in New York City in 1972 and raised by her mother and father. Her mother worked her way up from a secretary to an executive-level position at AT&T. McGill Johnson's childhood was strongly influenced by her parents' Black Nationalism and their pride in Black culture.
In 1993, she graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in political science and a focus in Latin-American social movements. She went on to receive a Master of Arts from Yale University in 1995, also in political science.

Career

McGill Johnson taught political science and African-American studies at both Yale and Wesleyan University. She served as political director for Russell Simmons' "Hip-Hop Summit Action Network", and was the executive director of Citizen Change during the 2004 election season, launching their "Vote or Die!" campaign.
In 2009, she co-founded the Perception Institute, a research group studying bias reduction and discrimination, and was their executive director. She co-created the curriculum for Starbucks' racial bias training in May 2018.
On July 16, 2019, McGill Johnson was announced as Planned Parenthood's acting president after the termination of Leana Wen. McGill Johnson was previously a board member and was the board's chair from 2013 to 2015. At that time, the Perception Institute listed her as being "on leave." On June 26, 2020, she was elevated to permanent president and CEO of Planned Parenthood.
McGill Johnson has also served on the boards of the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Social Inclusion, and Citizen Engagement Lab.

Awards and honors

Personal life

She lives in New York City. She is married to Robert Johnson, who is the president of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. They have two daughters.