Deborah Johnson

Deborah Johnson is the project coordinator for the Beaufort Three-Century Project. She has lived in Beaufort since 1997 and is the owner of Kaizen Consulting, a private venture that provides grant writing, board/organizational development, community facilitation and project management consultant services for nonprofit organizations and governmental bodies.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in political science and human services and a Master of Library & Information Science degree from the University of Tennessee. She has worked as the library director of Savannah College of Art & Design, Clemson University Gunnin Architecture Library, Ringling School of Art & Design, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and the American College of the Building Arts. She has held positions as public relations director, grants manager, and development director in museums, schools and historic preservation organizations; and as the administrative analyst for the city of Beaufort.

In 2001, she was a participant in the South Carolina Institute for Community Scholars focused on traditional arts, folklore, and community documentation and has participated in numerous workshops and conferences on oral history, public history, and group facilitation. She is a member of the National Council on Public History, National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Craft Council, Beaufort County Historical Society and Historic Beaufort Foundation.

Johnson has served on citizen and nonprofit boards, including as vice-chair of the city's Board of Architectural Review/Historic District Review Board, the Beaufort Tree Board, the city's Parks Utilization Advisory Commission, and the Board of Governors of the Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, among others. She lives in the historic Northwest Quadrant Neighborhood in downtown Beaufort.