When Catherine “CJ” Johnson was five, her parents sat her and her three older siblings down and delivered a stark message: they were expected to go to college, but they’d have to fund it themselves. Money was tight in their single-income household.
“When I left that family meeting, one of my parents said, ‘Debt is bad; don’t take out any debt,’” Johnson said. “I never took out student loans, including for grad school.”
At age 11, the Marietta, Georgia, native started working as a pet and babysitter and saved her earnings for a car. At 15, she landed got her first W-2 job as an after-school care supervisor. By 16, she was managing a UPS Store part-time through a work-study program offered by her high school.
Johnson earned a B.A. in Spanish from Georgia State University in 2012, an MBA from Georgia Southern University in 2018, and a Master of Science in Commercial Real Estate (MSCRE) from Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business in 2023.
“I’ve built a career advising C-suites on the three biggest line items on any company's balance sheet: real estate, human capital, and technology," Johnson said. "Further mastering the deep skill sets associated with financial analysis, investments, and value-creation was important to me.”
With the goal of launching her own company top of mind, Johnson sought a program that heavily focuses on creating value and honing those target skills. The MSCRE checked all the boxes. Through the program, she became well-versed in accounting, financial modeling, and investments.
As part of the program, students visit development sites and engage with key project leaders. Through a tour of Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood, Johnson felt like her understanding of neighborhood revitalization clicked. The area’s rebirth was kickstarted in 2017, when Georgia State converted the former home of the Atlanta Braves into a 22,000-seat football stadium. Developers really listened to residents’ needs and transformed Georgia Avenue into a bustling retail strip surrounded by new housing and vibrant murals. Because the developers worked closely with the community, the project was a major success.
When Johnson enrolled in the MSCRE, she served as growth advisory leader of the Southeast region for Grant Thornton, a global accounting and advisory firm. The skills she cultivated in the program strengthened her ability to create value, advise clients, manage asset portfolios, and prioritize investment decisions.
A top accomplishment for Johnson was collaborating with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on a four-year human capital plan enabling the agency to deliver benefits, healthcare, and memorial services to a workforce of 370,000 people. That workforce serves more than 18 million veterans and their families each year.
Another feather in her cap was partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Centers of Excellence. She led the team through establishing an operating model and data-backed business case for additional staffing and resources. Executive leadership signed off on the request in one meeting—a first for the department.
“We used data to tell a story about what how the workload had tremendously increased, where funding was needed, and how it would be used,” Johnson said. "Those efforts resulted in a nearly 50 percent increase in funding and staff. We were invited to collaborate on another project enabling the department to stand up three new Centers of Excellence serving more than 55,000 people.”
Johnson’s goals for 2024 include transitioning into the commercial real estate space, focusing on value creation and private equity, and seeking new challenges within the financial landscape.
“The MSCRE program provided the education and support I was looking for,” she said.