Board Spotlight: Ken Johnson
Board Spotlight: Ken Johnson
Managing Partner and CEO of Johnson, Blumberg & Associates LLC
LINK Board Chairman, LINK Mentor
Chairman of the LINK Unlimited Scholars Board of Directors, Ken Johnson didn’t have any mentors when he was growing up. Attending a predominantly white school in Detroit, Michigan, he had to find his own way. Fortunately, he was a go-getter with strong parents, so he did pretty well on his own—until he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his knee when he was a senior in high school.
He had to drop out of school for nearly two years for his treatment and chemotherapy. With only a 60 percent chance of living, he fought hard and almost died a couple of times. This experience helped him develop his life mantra: Never cry in a crisis. “There’s always somebody with a bigger crisis than you,” he explained, “so find ways to get out of it. Don’t just whine about the problem—fix the problem. I use this mantra all the time.”
As a result of his perseverance and determination, Ken recovered from cancer and completed high school. He graduated from the University of Michigan and then went on to law school. After working as an attorney in Minneapolis for eight years, he started his own law firm in Chicago in 2003. He is co-owner, managing partner, and CEO of Johnson, Blumberg & Associates LLC, which has six law firms in six states, with 100-150 employees. He is also an alderman, an elected official, for the Village of River Forest. “I enjoy my life,” Ken said. “I truly do.”
Wanting to give back, Ken was about to join the Board of another mentoring program about 10 years ago when he met a neighbor who worked for LINK Unlimited Scholars. After she told him about LINK, he jumped on board and has never looked back. “LINK provides opportunity,” he said. “We’re taking academically talented kids and helping them get to where they need to be. Black students are disproportionately impacted by structural and systemic forces, and we’re just trying to get them the opportunities they deserve, because they have the talent. We just help along the way.”
“Too many of us don’t reflect on our history and how we got to where we are,” he continued. “There’s always someone giving you a hand up, whether you knew it or not, and now, I think we have a direct responsibility—not even a desire or a passion—but a responsibility to give back.”
Ken loves watching LINK Scholars show the rest of the community what they’re capable of. Whenever there’s any type of LINK presentation or gala, he always brings in a student to tell their story. “It’s amazing watching the audience so enthralled by what they’re saying,” he described. “They just can’t believe these kids have so much talent and drive and are so sophisticated—and we helped them get to that point. It’s just so nice to see them show the world. And once a kid goes through LINK, they’re going to try to take advantage of every opportunity that’s given to them throughout life.”
“I’m on my third mentee now,” he remarked. “With my first, I didn’t know what I was doing. Once I took him with my family to go see Hamilton, and he was so amazed that we did things like that all the time. That was a paradigm shift for me. I realized that it’s all about exposure. He was a straight A student, but he had never been to a play. He had never been outside his neighborhood. So I realized, all we have to do is just give them opportunities. I’ll never forget that day, and now I use it as my inspiration to make sure that everybody has as many experiences as you can get for them, to help them become informed adults.”
“The best thing is, our statistics prove that it works,” he summarized. “LINK Scholars graduate from college at a higher rate than any other category. That’s a major statement about what we do and what we can do if we all simply provide opportunities to these kids. And we’re not just producing students who are graduating from college…they’re becoming leaders, not only in our community but all over the world.”
As chairman of the LINK Board of Directors, one of Ken’s main goals is trying to make sure the Scholars are exposed to as many different occupations as possible. To him, it’s important to show them the countless career paths available to them and the earning potential of different careers. “I run into LINK Alumni frequently, and it’s just amazing to me to watch these students obtain what they deserve. I love that we get to see the fruits of our labor all the time.”
Ken would encourage everyone to get involved with LINK on a more personal level. “It’s not that hard to lend a helping hand,” he said. “I would ask that you look into LINK and just see what you can do. As we help these students, we really think everybody gains from working with LINK—not just the Scholars, but the adults as well.”
Thank you, Ken, for your service to and investment in LINK!
