Susan D. Johnson, Ph.D., is director of grants administration at Lumina Foundation, a private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.
Throughout her career in higher education, Johnson has acquired deep knowledge of policies and practices affecting student success, student engagement, and institutional accountability. She joined Lumina in 2008 and has served as a strategy officer, director of equity and inclusion, and as director of impact and research. Before joining Lumina, Johnson held professional positions in student affairs at Louisiana State University and the University of North Dakota, as well as in institutional research at Indiana University.
She is actively involved in the philanthropic sector, having served on the boards of Grantmakers for Education, Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy, and Higher Education Resource Services, and currently serves as a board member of ABFE. Johnson is also a member of the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance Education Committee and is co-editor of “Standing on the Outside Looking In: Underrepresented Students’ Experiences in Advanced Degree Programs.”
Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and two master’s degrees—one in social psychology, the other in education—from the University of Florida. She also has a doctorate in higher education from Indiana University.
