I think I always knew that I would work. I never thought about not working. But my parents also gave back to the community, and my grandmother did too. I feel that kind of inspired me to…work in the nonprofit world. My dad worked in human services, my mother worked in education. I think we were just raised to give back and be there for people.
Maryann Johnson was born on September 11th, 1985 in Salisbury, England, but raised in the small town of Bath, Maine. Maryann grew up in a sailor’s mansion with her parents, older brother and older sister. Following in her sister’s shadow, Maryann idolized her older sister growing up, spending her school vacations visiting her sister at college in New York. In 2003, Maryann began college at Clark University, majoring in nonprofit management with a minor in women’s studies. While at college, she met her now husband. Today they have young twin girls and are expecting their third child. She discusses how her husband opened her eyes to the many different parts of Worcester from the arts to the food. Maryann is currently living in Millbury, Massachusetts, and working at Oakhill Community Development Corporation in Worcester as the Chief Development Officer. Maryann finds her career both professionally and personally satisfying. In her free time, she is involved in tap dancing classes, and aspires to one day, establish a nonprofit theatre company for kids. In the interview, Maryann discusses her values of family and having an open mind, wanting “to be remembered well, to make a difference, and to create a good life for her family.”