Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristen Johnson.
Hi Tristen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was in graduate school, Trayvon Martin was murdered and his killer was not convicted. I remember at that moment in 2013 that I wanted to be a person who helped create change for the good of the country. As a graduate student, I began facilitating diversity trainings for my peers and supervisors to get people comfortable talking about injustice and their personal identities. I fell in love seeing people having “aha” moments when something would click. But I also fell in love with the challenge. After I graduated and began working full time in higher education, I incorporated diversity and inclusion education in everything I did with college students, staff and faculty at the universities I worked. I’ve been a diversity and inclusion practitioner for about eight years. I’ve held multiple positions in higher education, running multicultural programs and centers.
I recently served as the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for two years. I now am a Diversity Education Specialist at Moffitt Cancer Center. I love this work so much that I started my own business in September 2019, The Tristen Johnson, LLC, where I provide diversity and inclusion workshops and trainings for organizations across the country. In these workshops, I challenge participants to dive deeper into social identities and social issues impacting us in this country. I educate participants on anti-racism, how to be anti-racist, and how to recognize how all of our lives have been negatively impacted by the effects of racism. As a hobby, I make waist beads body jewelry. My waist bead hobby has been doing very well. I have women customers who purchase waist beads for fashion and beauty but also to track their weight loss. I’ve been making beads since 2015 when I researched this historical foundation of waist beads as they originated hundreds of years ago in different African countries.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For my diversity and inclusion business, I think the biggest challenge I’ve faced was getting the word out about my business because I do not have a website. I only have Instagram and Facebook and I rely heavily on word of mouth. I used to get so discouraged when no one was reaching out to me to facilitate workshops for them. However, after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I had many organizations and small community groups around the country reach out to me to provide services to them. Since then, they’ve recommended me to others and now I am building my network. I have a few trainings all the way to April 2021 now! For my waist bead hobby, I had lots of trial and error. Finding the right materials that would last or didn’t break was hard and I spent a lot of my own money trying to figure it out. Customers were upset that their beads weren’t lasting due to the materials I used in the beginning and I lost a lot of interest because of it. Now, I have materials that last longer, and my customers seem to be pleased with them now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work full time at Moffitt Cancer Center as a Diversity Education Specialist. I specialize in diversity and inclusion education. I am most proud of my ability to use my personality to connect with the participants in my session. I do a good job of making folks feel comfortable while we have conversations about things that normally make people uncomfortable. Talking about social justice topics are typically ones that people shy away from because they are afraid to say the wrong thing. I create spaces where people can have discussions about their different opinions and discuss the implications of those opinions.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I didn’t really enjoy my childhood that much. Most of my best memories are from when I went to college to now. But I do value the fact that my father was in my life. Many of my friends growing up did not have their fathers and I was blessed to have mine who is still married to my mother. Both of my parents love me unconditionally and my father took time to pour into me as a young girl. He ensured to tell me I was beautiful and teach me independence. He taught me how to develop the courage to become the public speaker I am today and how to keep God at the center of all of my life choices.
Pricing:
- Waist beads range from $25-$75 depending on length
- Diversity trainings are determined after consultation
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: thetristenjohnsonllc
- Facebook: facebook.com/thetristenjohnsonllc
