JEFF JOHNSON

STATE DIRECTOR, AARP FLORIDA, ST. PETERSBURG

Johnson began working at AARP Florida in 2000 and was appointed state director in 2010. AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, non-partisan organization for people 50 years old and older. AARP Florida has 23 staffers and hundreds of volunteers.

EDUCATION: Wake Forest University (BA), Emory University (M.Div.)

MY MENTOR: Among many options, Marcus Buckingham’s research on finding and managing to people’s strengths has been the most influential in forming my leadership style.

READING: My colleagues will roll their eyes at this because I ALWAYS have a book recommendation. But I’ll highlight Tribal Leadership here as a great one.

INSPIRATIONAL FLORIDIAN: Dick Vitale, for his ability to overcome hardships and challenges ranging from being fired to a cancer diagnosis, as well as for the way he has transformed the loss of his good friend and colleague Jimmy Valvano into a personal cause to combat cancer.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA: Every ‘yes’ is a ‘no.’ Everything we choose to do brings an intentional or unintentional choice to close off other possibilities, because time and money are limited resources. So be wise in what you say ‘yes’ to.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED
“Life is a series of invitations to ‘get over yourself.’”