More than any other Brandman faculty I know, Dr. Jalin Johnson understands the importance of connection.
She makes it a point to reach out and support her colleagues not only when the need arises, but also whenever there is an opportunity to appreciate their ideas and accomplishments in any forum.
I will never forget the card I received from her at my Santa Maria campus office, in the summer of 2015, congratulating me for receiving the 2015 Brandman Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award. I am still so touched by the gesture, because she and I had hardly communicated with each other at that point. I didn’t even know that she knew who I was or that she had paid attention to my award, when she herself had received the 2015 Faculty of the Year Award for the School of Business and Professional Studies. Yet, she took the time to send me a hand-written note focusing on my achievement, even taking the time to look up my campus office address to make sure it reached me by mail.
Since then, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dr. Johnson for a panel presentation on using technology to teach and mentor military and veteran students, for the 2018 Hawaii International Conference on Education, and also as part of the BU-Virtual Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW)’s Committee on Diversity (CoD).
During both projects, Dr. Johnson’s pro-active collegiality distinguished her as a leader.
Indeed, as the 2017-2018 Diversity Chair for the BU-Virtual Branch of AAUW, Dr. Johnson initiated and led the Committee on Diversity (CoD).
I always looked forward to communicating with her, whether by e-mail or in a virtual meeting, as a member of both the conference panel and the CoD.
Dr. Johnson possesses an admirable talent for facilitating thoughtful and inclusive discussions. She listens carefully to everyone’s ideas, validates them, uses them as a point of departure for further collaboration, and makes sure that all actions taken respect everyone’s input, not just the input of a few. And she makes it look effortless!
I have learned so much from observing the way she runs meetings and presentations. And I can’t wait to collaborate with her further in the future!
Lata Murti, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Sociology Online Campus
murti@brandman.edu T 323.309.7795 (cell)
Brandman University