Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Johnson.
Hi Lisa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am proud to have had a variety of wonderful careers that led me to where I am today. It was not something I ever anticipated…leading a non-profit whose focus is repurposing and managing historic buildings and operating an arts and culture district…but I am passionate about what I do and truly love my work. I am a native of San Diego, did my undergraduate work in Los Angeles [Fight On!], and began my career as a Special Agent with NIS [now known as NCIS]. This job often took me around the country and a two-year assignment in Asia. After graduate school and becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), I worked for San Diego County in many aspects of Child Welfare. Changing careers to private industry, I worked for The Corky McMillin Companies and was part of our transition team to Liberty Station. After my work there, I wanted to understand more about non-profit management, so I worked for YMCA of San Diego County. All of the skills from all of my previous careers serve me perfectly for my role at Arts District Liberty Station.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My first career in federal law enforcement was mostly a man’s world. When I started, there were very few women. I was in my early 20’s, and I found that many male agents under the age of 35 were threatened by my presence and some even did things to sabotage and undermine me. Fortunately, older and more experienced agents were able to manage those emotions and actions in the younger agents. That was the first time I experienced something like that, because I was raised to believe women were equal to men and I could pursue whatever career I chose. Later in my career path, I experienced something similar, but not because of my gender. Initially, when I joined an organization in a leadership role, while I was well-qualified for the position, in the eyes of some, I had not ‘earned’ that role by coming up through that organization. In both of these circumstances, it was important for me to do great work and prove my value.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am exceedingly proud of the work we do at Arts District Liberty Station. What we do is quite complex, but I am proud our work often appears seamless to our guests and consumers. Our mission is unique. We are fortunate to have an opportunity to repurpose and adaptively reuse historic structures that for nearly 75 years, were used to house and train U.S. Naval personnel. Once restored, it is also our mission to activate those spaces and create and manage a vibrant arts and culture district. We are a non-profit and responsible for how we fund both the development of the buildings and also the activation of the spaces. We understand the importance of supporting the arts and artists, as well as non-profit organizations who are also our tenants. We must do good business to continue our work supporting arts in San Diego. I am proud we are able to provide nearly $1M in rent subsidies to our tenants in the form of reduced rent and below market spaces for artists. Our buildings are expertly and safely maintained, which is expensive with historic structures. We offer unique programs such as Liberty School, which brings students from Title I schools to study with artists; Installations at the Station where we fund original installations by local artists, making art free and accessible to all who visit us; and our Emerging Artists program, which offers free space for six-to-twelve months to both performing and visual artists in early stages of their careers.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Curious about everything and extremely independent from the time I was very young. As a teen, I did a lot of volunteering in my community and took on leadership roles in junior high and high school. I have never been a fan of, “because that is the way we have always done it.” Even as a teen and young adult, I would ask “why” a lot and look to improve things if I thought there might be a better way to accomplish something.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artsdistrictlibertystation.org
- Instagram: @artsdistrictlibertystation
- LinkedIn: Arts District Liberty Station
