JoAnn (JJ) Johnson, Ph.D.
Dr. Johnson is Emeritus Professor in Child and Family Studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where she retired from providing professional development education in early childhood education, early intervention, and early childhood special education. She completed her undergraduate degree in special education and elementary education at the University of Idaho and her master’s and doctoral degrees in early intervention at the University of Oregon under the advisement of Dr. Diane Bricker.
Dr. Johnson has worked at University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Louisiana, Oregon, and Nevada as Program Coordinator, Teacher, Service Coordinator, Grant and Contract Administrator, Director, Principal Investigator, and Instructor. She served as Director of the Research and Educational Planning Center and the Nevada University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities from 2001 to 2008, where she developed and administered lifespan programs, services, and supports for individuals with disabilities and their families.
Her professional experiences encompass all service settings for young children, including neonatal intensive care units, pediatric intensive care units, well-baby clinics, home- and center-based programs for infants and young children (including Head Start and Early Head Start), nursing homes, supported employment, transition programs, special education schools, and university lab school programs. Much of her professional career has focused on developing and refining assessment and curriculum systems to support the provision of services, interventions, and teaching for young children with disabilities, birth to age 6, and their families. Dr. Johnson is author, developer, and trainer of An Activity-Based Approach to Early Intervention, Fourth Edition (with N. Rahn & D. Bricker; Brookes Publishing Co., 2015), and the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS; Brookes Publishing Co., 2002, 2022) and has been involved with the system since her days as a graduate student at the University of Oregon. In her spare time, Dr. Johnson likes to read, work on home projects, observe and interact with young children, and support human and animal rights.