Barbara Brooks Johnson

Barb Johnson

Barbara Johnson has inadvertently and not so inadvertently been involved in South Dakota politics since 1978.  Her husband, former Senator Tim Johnson, informed her that he wanted to run for a State House seat and asked for her permission. She famously said, “You can run until you lose,” which in the 36 years, never happened. Barb said she might have sought local office if Tim hadn’t been successful. Instead, she became his chief adviser and loyal partner.

Barb met Tim when they were both University of South Dakota students and married shortly after graduating. Barb completed her master’s degree in social work at Michigan State University and the couple started their family.  Despite a busy schedule, she stayed focused on her children and was active in their lives. In 2006, her husband suffered a brain hemorrhage and she spent much of every day with him, the physicians, and the therapists.  She served as a source of strength for her husband and their children during the recovery.

Barb’s first job as an educator and social worker after graduate school, was working for the Center for Developmental Disabilities (now Lifescape) on the child assessment team. She then worked as a tenured associate professor of social work at the University of South Dakota for 15 years. She published articles on social policy and was awarded several grants, some of which provided training to child welfare specialists on reservations. After Tim’s election to Congress, her social work career led her to the Fairfax County, Virginia school system working with preschool through 12th-grade students.

Through the years, Barb was always very active in children’s issues and services. Her work with the national office of STARBASE, an educational program at the Department of Defense to interest at-risk youth in science, technology, engineering, and math, was the culmination of a career spent serving others. Her contributions at STARBASE involved the assessment of programs across the country and preparing an annual report to Congress.

In 2017, Barb became chair of the Sutton for South Dakota committee, to elect gubernatorial candidate Billie Sutton in the 2018 election. In 2020, the United States marked the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, commemorating women's right to vote. Honoring this occasion, Barb served on the fundraising committee of the Her Vote. Her Voice. women’s history initiative. Most recently she served on the redistricting commission for the City of Sioux Falls, reviewing and analyzing 2020 census data, and volunteered her time as chair for Jamie Smith’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

Barb is a fighter.  She helped Tim survive some grueling campaigns and serious health issues. And quietly she fought and survived breast cancer, three times and has been an active supporter of improved medical services resources. Now out of the daily political campaigning, Barb enjoys time with her family, especially her grandchildren.