Veronica Johnson, MPH - Overdose prevention

Freshly completing a public health internship and graduating from CSU Stanislaus with a BA in Kinesiology & Health Promotion concentration, Veronica found herself wanting to further explore the field of public health. Seeing an opportunity to work in her community, she became the first AmeriCorps VISTA member for the San Benito County Opioid Task Force (SBCOTF) shortly after its formation in 2018. Veronica’s supervisor supported her through professional development opportunities like grant writing, public speaking, and program management in combination with webinars and trainings on overdose prevention. During her time of service, she greatly developed her professional skills taking on projects like creating the logo and website for SBCOTF, crafting presentations for community members and organizations, student and parent prevention education, organizing a physician and pharmacist summit, and securing over $300,000 in grant funds and small private donations to the coalition. These grants helped to secure her a position as a health educator for the SBCOTF within the San Benito County Public Health Department when her service came to an end. Her love of public health grew throughout her service, prompting her to enroll in the University of San Francisco’s MPH program in 2019.

From 2019 – 2022, Veronica worked as the health educator and Co-Lead of the SBCOTF and the Team Lead of the Central Coast Regional Team (Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz Counties) for the COPN Accelerator 3.0 Program. In mid-March, Veronica stepped into a new role as the Program Coordinator for the Center for Health Leadership & Practice at the Public Health Institute, supporting the work of the Overdose Prevention Network. Veronica credits her AmeriCorps service for her passion for public health, substance use focused work, and to her career trajectory of work from a small county to supporting the coalitions throughout California.