Derek Johnson

Derek’s work focuses on supporting students to be engaged in community in meaningful ways during their time at Macalester. He is the lead staff person supporting community engaged learning courses at Macalester, working directly with faculty at the interface of community engagement. He also leads the Off Campus Student Employment Program, which allows students to work 8-10 hours per week in meaningful ways with a wide variety of local nonprofits and government agencies. Similarly, Derek supports our Bonner scholars in their community engagement leadership work. One area of specialization is his work supporting a myriad of conversation groups off campus with a  wide array of community partners. Derek also oversees CEC data and evaluation efforts to help Macalester to tell its community engagement story and improve our practices. Finally, he organizes events and workshops for various audiences about community engagement, and he leads outreach efforts to expand the breadth of Macalester students building meaningful relationships in the community, developing civic skills and habits, and impacting public issues that are important to them.

Derek has worked in the Twin Cities since 2001, and he describes his work as taking place at the intersection of higher education and community. While he has worked and collaborated in many fields, he has worked most deeply with immigrants and refugees and in the field of youth development. He enjoys partnering with organizations and projects to make an impact, and he is always looking for ways to deepen his knowledge and understanding of local neighborhoods.

BA: Brown University

Masters in Urban and Regional Planning: Humphrey School, University of Minnesota