Dawn L. Johnson has an armor about her that evokes an athlete, and a deeper emotional side that’s warm and inviting. In 2018, she exited Corporate America and launched her life coaching gift through The Dawn Johnson Experience. Today, she says, “I’m finally at a stage where I know I’m dope. Inside and out. That wasn’t always the case.”

Addwomxn has witnessed the growth of Dawn’s coaching business as we’re often in the same coworking space: ModernWell. It felt overdue to pause and spend time with her to capture the story behind coach Dawn. From that conversation, we bring you a little of our Q & A, lightly edited for clarity.

 

Were you always this fierce? What were you like as a child?

I am the first born of three. One of the first roles I stepped into, given my parents’ emotionally and physically abusive relationship, was protector. I protected my mom in the sense that I stood up for her. I always wanted her to see her own worth. When I was 10, they divorced. By then I was fully into playing that role with my two younger brothers as well. It was evident I had a drive to do the thing the right way. That way of being inspired my brothers’ chant for me: Pretty Precious Perfect Poupee, reflecting their belief that I never did anything wrong nor did I get into trouble.

With our family dynamic as it was, I had to grow up fast. But I want to be clear: I still felt like a had a good childhood. Although my parents’ marriage dissolved, positive things came of it. My mom became stronger and did the necessary things to support three children like working multiple jobs. While moving over two hours away from our dad to a new city with our mom was hurtful for us as children, we continued to have a relationship with our dad. He really showed up for us while working through his own personal setbacks.

 

What age were you when you moved from Indianapolis, IN, and what was it like to live in your neighborhood in Gary, IN?

I was 10 when my brothers and I moved with our mom to settle in Gary, Indiana. If you know anything about that time period in history for Gary, it was known for its steel production, its majority African American population, and its first Black mayor. The “Magic City” was a Black city. The schools were Black and Hispanic dominant. I excelled in this environment, despite its rise in the 1990’s to one of the most dangerous places in the nation.

Where we lived, I saw Black people doing their very best and seldom interacting with white people. Although the neighborhood wasn’t particularly affluent, I felt cared for, safe, and empowered. There was definitely a sense of community and looking out for each other. Some of that stemmed from my mother’s involvement in the church, fundraising and Democratic political life. The rest of that ownership came from my own self-worth as an athlete, respected and known as a track star throughout my high school career in Gary.

 

You’re a 400-meter runner. That’s your race. Can you share more about how you came to be a runner and how it served you?

I was a track star at age five! The initial interest in running was sparked by my Dad. As I grew, our shared love of running became a deep part of our relationship and provided an identity for me. It gave me a sense of peace and wholeness. Being an athlete informed confidence, leadership, and discipline. It also served me well in my Corporate America journey.

 

OK. So corporate called to you and bravely stepped in, spending over 22 years in Corporate America. How do you look upon that time in your life now?

Corporate America gave me security through two marriages and divorces, with the final stint as a single mom starting at age 42 with three boys, the youngest only two years old. I embraced the company I was at – they believed in beating excellence into their employees. It was a great place for someone like me with an athlete mentality. And I played all the roles: mentor, coach, trainer every chance I got. I demonstrated excellence for decades. Then I suffered an injury.

A lower back injury resulting from overwork and lifting on the job where I averaged 70hrs/week, proved to be a defining moment in my career. I had recently been promoted to Area VP and after always advocating and uplifting others, I looked around for someone to do the same for me. I found myself without a champion. That’s when the self-talk Black people necessarily use in Corporate America to survive, fell away for me. Meaning, Black people give themselves every reason in the book to explain away the microaggressions that are part of our daily workplace experience: Whatever the reason is, it’s not because I’m Black.

I was Black. I was also too smart, too old, too female … The microaggressions smacked me upside the head after wearing on me physically and emotionally for the last five years leading up to my exit in 2018. At the time I was the national leading manager, recognized for having most diverse and well-performing team. My team loved me! But it was simply time to move on and figure out what was next.

 

Close that chapter! On to doper things… like your coaching business.

After some soul searching and reconnecting with self and family after leaving Corporate America, I began to fully comprehend my gift: I help people face their fear. As a guide, I’m providing my clients with access to tools, and I’m truly reminding them of their greatness. That can be a hard thing to consistently tap into and know, especially when you’re chartering new territory, moving through change, or driving innovation.

I walked through fire many times and no one threw water on me to save me. Surviving these lived experiences and understanding the vast range of them is how I open my clients up for change and help them speak their truth. All we need to find is one small speck of light at the edge of darkness and light in order to move into that hopeful space to discover what’s on the other side.

 

It seems like you’ve done a lot of work to understand your formative and adult relationships and how they’ve shaped you. How do you use those insights in your coaching today?

I never looked at my childhood as traumatic, until I went on my own healing journey as an adult. Just know that nothing about your past or childhood becomes super clear until you make the choice to heal. As married and divorced twice mother of three, I’ve self-reflected and worked to course correct where I could.

Everything I am today I’ve been working on intently since 2018. I know it’s never too late to decide to heal and I breathe life into that message for my clients. It’s a choice every day. I give them the tools I acquired from unpacking my stuff. I remind them that it’s so common to experience low vibing or decreased energy because of life in general, no matter who you are. I stress that they have to learn how to figure out how to be good within themselves, and that they can make themself okay regardless of outside factors. That’s the work. And it is our divine right to have this goodness.

 

In Addwomxn’s formative stages in summer of 2020, we leaned into the gatherings you held with Chaz Sandifer called Let Go, Let Flow. What have you recognized about both initiatives’ paths, now that we’re in the spring of 2022?

I appreciate that Addwomxn’s platform is about creating equity (not equality). In and through Addwomxn, I’ve recognized incredible white women holding each other accountable. They show up consistently, stand in the gap, and do the work on my behalf. I also see powerful, strong white women who’ve made the commitment to do the work. Being powerful is new territory for many white women, but Black women are very familiar here – we’ve had no choice but to be. So as a white woman, if you’ve never had dope close proximity with a Black woman, you’re missing out! Make that happen.

With The Dawn Johnson Experience, my coaching business, I knew that as a Black woman I had to heal and be open to seeing white women as my sisters, not as ones who hurt me. My work allows for that as does our Let Go, Let Flow gatherings. All of it is a beautiful way of black and white women loving on each other. It’s sort of a doubling-down on healing. Who couldn’t use more of that?

— Addwomxn Amplifies is an ongoing series designed to highlight the work and lived experiences — personal and professional — of our BIPOC community.