The Author

Philippe Johnson

Philippe Johnson was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine (a suburb of Paris, France) in 1969 to an American father and career U.S. Army attorney (assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Paris), and French mother and language teacher. He spent the remainder of his childhood in Hawaii, Kansas, Germany, and eventually, the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

Philippe’s relationship to public service arguably began when he attended the Normandy D-Day commemorations as a child. It was there that the value of service and selflessness were indelibly impressed on him. Philippe decided just prior to starting high school, and absent any parental pressure, to pursue a career in the military. That career in public service essentially began with four years of leadership training in a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps detachment at the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1991 with a degree in political science. His Air Force career included twenty-four years of challenging assignments as a pilot, intelligence officer, military diplomat (attaché), and safety professional.

Lieutenant Colonel Johnson’s permanent duty stations (non-deployed locations) included Texas, Alabama, New Mexico, Japan, metro Washington D.C., The Philippines, Germany, and finally, Louisiana. His daily leadership and managerial experience was supplemented with three rounds of professional military education, each including a heavy focus on leadership. While serving in the Washington, D.C., area, he completed a master’s degree in public policy in 2003 at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. Lieutenant Colonel Johnson retired from the Air Force in 2016.

Philippe speaks conversational French, German, and bit of Tagalog. He enjoys learning to play the electric guitar, tennis, and travel. He has a passion for Formula One racing (he raced Formula Vee as an amateur), music, nature, the humane treatment of animals, and wildlife conservation.