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Biography

As Chief Diversity Officer, Chris supports the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and goals. His roles include assisting in the development and implementation of diversity action plans as well as communication and engagement strategies. Chris also works with leaders, supporters and champions across the firm to conceptualize and develop policies and practices that leverage DEI analytics to advance inclusivity and diverse representation at Frost Brown Todd.

Chris has an extensive background in diversity education, community engagement, recruitment and retention, as well as strategic planning and outreach initiatives. He has been a presenter of numerous workshops and training sessions on leadership, communication, cultural competency and diversity. In addition to his time as a diversity educator and recruiter, Chris has championed various initiatives to open the doors of education, opportunity and leadership development for all.

Chris’ professional portfolio includes strategy advancement, classroom teaching, community outreach and curriculum development and design. Chris is a strong believer in alternative dispute resolution and has been trained as a dispute mediator. Prior to joining Frost Brown Todd, Chris served as both Director of Inclusion and Diversity and interim Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Humana Inc. Chis was also the Executive Director for the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Office of Diversity, Equality, and Training from 2016 to 2019.

A lover of total health and fitness, Chris enjoys all forms of exercise, including cycling, running and team sports. He is also a voracious consumer of news, an avid reader and enjoys social media, music, food and fun.

Chris's Relevant Experience

Health Care

Prior to joining the Frost Brown Todd team, Chris served as the Director of Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) at Humana Inc. from May 2019 to February 2022. He also served a stint as Humana’s interim Chief I&D Officer. Chris led strategy development across a number of I&D initiatives, including implementing a data-driven approach to measuring and advancing cultural competency and advancing Humana’s diverse talent strategy. Chris was also the lead point of contact at Humana for many of the I&D-related community engagement and partnership efforts, including Humana’s partnership with the One Ten Coalition, Integrating Women Leaders Foundation, DiversityInc, Leadership Louisville, and the Derby Equity & Community Initiative, among many others.

During Chris’s time as Director and interim Chief I&D Officer, Humana was twice named to Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity list and ranked among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, including landing at No. 13 in 2021 (up from No. 42 in 2019), among other recognitions. In addition, Chris was instrumental in advancing mentoring across the enterprise, culminating in record mentorship participation rates over a two-year period. Check out Humana’s I&D Annual Report to learn more.

Government

Chris served as the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s senior EEO, Diversity and Inclusion official from 2016 to 2019. In that role, he was responsible for the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and programs to promote progressive statewide workforce management in the areas of Equal Employment Opportunity, retention, inclusion, diversity and employee training and development.

During his time in public service, Chris was able to significantly increase external partnerships and collaboration with private sector businesses and educational institutions on behalf of the Personnel Cabinet and other executive branch agencies. Additionally, his leadership led to a dramatic shift in engagement with the annual Diversity and Leadership Conference (now called the Governor’s LEAD Conference), resulting in a more than 200% increase in attendance from 2016 to 2019.

Other Info About Chris

Education

Undergraduate School

University of Louisville, B.A.

Certifications

Accelerating Change Readiness and Agility Credential, UC Berkeley

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Bingham Fellow, The Leadership Louisville Center, 2022

Health Care Fellow, Health Enterprises Network, 2021

DEI Champion, Nation Diversity in Leadership Conference, 2020, 2021

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Health Enterprises Network

Civic Activities

Civic & Charitable Organizations

Derby Equity & Community Initiative, Kentucky Derby Festival

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana

Firm Committees

Chris serves or has served in the following leadership role(s) at Frost Brown Todd:

Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Member

Presentations

Chris was invited to speak at the following events:

“The DEI Dream: What Will It Take To Make It Last,” Derby Diversity Week & Business Summit, May 2022

“Formal Mentoring Program Best Practices,” A Conversation with Top Diversity Leaders: Driving Business Impact, DiversityInc

“How Male Allies Can Help Advance Women in the Workplace,” Advancing Women’s Leadership Skills and Opportunities in Pharma and Healthcare Conference, Dynamic Global Events, Sept. 2021

“GDL: Meet Chris Johnson, Humana’s Director of Inclusion & Diversity,” WHAS 11, Feb. 2021 (watch video)

“Private Sector Conversation,” 2019 Competitive City Report: The Flow of Community Investment, Greater Louisville Project, 2019

 

Major Publications

Chris is an author or contributor to the following publications:

“Equity and inclusion are building a better Louisville,” quoted in The Lane Report, June 2021 (view article)

“DE&I Preview: Humana’s Christopher Johnson on the importance of belonging,” quoted in Louisville Business First, Nov. 2020 (view article)

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