Paula Johnson

Paula Johnson (born 1959) is the 14th president of Wellesley College and the first African American to serve in this role. President Johnson is an internationally recognized leader with a broad range of experience as a researcher, educator, and expert in women's health care, public health and health policy.
Before coming to Wellesley, Johnson founded and served as the inaugural executive director of the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology, as well as Chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
A cardiologist, Johnson was the Grace A. Young Family Professor Medicine in the field of women's health, an endowed professorship named in honor of her mother, at Harvard Medical School. She was also Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Johnson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and has been featured as a national leader in medicine by the National Library of Medicine.
Her 2013 Ted talk, "His and Her Healthcare," was named one of the "Top 10 TED Talks by Women to be Viewed by Everyone" for raising awareness on the importance of sex differences in understanding women's health.
Johnson was born and raised in New York. She spoke to WGBH about her childhood. "I was very fortunate growing up in Brooklyn. I have one sister, and from a very early age my mother focused on us not only being well-educated, but also thinking independently. I think that gave me the latitude to think differently about my college education. I went to Harvard Radcliffe, which allowed me to really have my first introduction to women's health." Separately, she said the best piece of advice her mom gave her was to "find your voice and not let failure knock you down." Johnson and her husband have a son and a daughter and two Havanese puppies. The family resides in Wellesley, MA.

Johnson attended Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, received her MD and MPH degrees from Harvard, and trained in internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

After graduating, Johnson began her residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and decided to specialize in cardiology. In 1990, she became the first woman and first African American ever to hold the position of chief medical resident at the hospital.

Johnson worked in the hospital's cardiac transplant unit and served as director of Quality Management Services. As chief of the Division of Women's Health, she focused on women's access to cardiology care and the quality of that care. This is especially important, as cardiovascular disease manifests differently in men and women. Johnson has also focused much of her work on educating and empowering African-American women, as these women are 50 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than white women.