Nancy Johnston is a Women of Influence. myFM wants to shine a spotlight on this extraordinary woman, who makes a huge difference in our community.
While there are numerous ladies we could feature, we’re starting with nine, and one of those incredible women is Nancy Johnston.
A graduate of York University, Johnston has been at Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre in a variety of roles since 2000, and became the Executive Director in 2015.
Cornerstone and Cobourg Police were invited by Horizons of Friendship to be part of a knowledge exchange in Guatemala and she says it was a true highlight of her career.
She’s given almost 20 years of service for women and families in our community and doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
Before that, she was living in Toronto and she became a Woman’s Shelter Counsellor and a few other roles before coming to Cobourg and Cornerstone.
She has this advice for woman just starting out in the social work sector: make sure it aligns with your values.
She says although it is tough work, it’s truly rewarding.
And for those women suffering from family violence, she has this advice: seek help, because it’s out there.
She adds that one of the biggest challenges in her career has been how slow change has been. She thought they’d be a lot further along but she says they are doing things better and are affecting change.
When asked what woman inspires her most, she tells us a story of an 80-year-old traditional midwife she met in Africa in 1994, who she lived with right before the Civil War.
She taught her to be resilient and inspired her to give back, be kind, humble, generous and strong and says her Grandmother also inspired her for these same qualities.
Here is Nancy’s conversation with myFM’s Jenny McCaig.
