Columbus CEO’s CEO of the Year 2023: LC Johnson Creates a Community With Zora’s House

2023 CEO of the Year – Small Nonprofit Winner

When LC Johnson and her husband, Sheldon, moved to Columbus from North Carolina about eight years ago, they were newly married and thinking about starting a family. Johnson, who worked in the nonprofit sector, also was trying to figure out what was next for her career. She didn’t know anyone here, making it a bit of a lonely endeavor.

One night during that time of transition, Johnson had a dream about finding her power in a community. “I dreamed about being in this really cool space. Lauryn Hill was playing on the conference room speakers, and there were all these really fly women laughing and working,” Johnson says. “And when I woke up, I was like, ‘That space has to exist.’ ”

Because of her inspiration and the efforts of co-creators, now it does. Today, Zora’s House welcomes about 2,500 women of color and allies a year to its workshops, Women of Color-Owned Markets, writing circles and other programs. Its 250 members find the 2,000-square-foot community and co-working space on Summit Street in Weinland Park a place to build support and manifest their identities as leaders, entrepreneurs, writers, artists, activists and dreamers.

“It has transformed from being my vision to being a collective vision by so many people in this community,” Johnson says.

It strikes Johnson as unacceptable that so many programs to support women of color are focused on basic survival needs—affordable housing, food security, maternal health. “And that’s not enough,” she says. “Zora’s House is focused on women of color being able to lead and create—to thrive, to have joy, to be able to activate your leadership and your talents and your vision.”

As the Columbus region makes its bid to attract and retain talent, women of color must be at the table, “leading and dreaming and contributing in meaningful ways,” she says.

The community is supporting that vision, to the tune of $5 million raised since 2022 toward a $6 million campaign to build a new Zora’s House at North Fourth Street and Eighth Avenue. The 10,000-square-foot, three-story building will stand on a site once called one of the most dangerous corners in America because of drugs and violence, Johnson says.

“This new building is really going to be a hub of innovation and thought leadership and entrepreneurship,” Johnson says. Fundraising is going well, yet she and her board members were advised by consultants not to proceed. They were not dissuaded.

“Women in general, and Black women even more particularly, are told over and over that they should only do things publicly if they know they’re going to be perfect at it. And we deserve the same opportunities to fail as white men do,” Johnson says, referring to the common scenario where startup founders are funded for new ventures following the failure of previous ones. “Even if I fail, I still am deserving. I still am a leader,” she says.

Among the many community champions of Zora’s House is JPMorgan Chase & Co., which funded a $1.5 million Equity Design Institute for Women of Color at the center. The initiative has trained 75 equity design practitioners in the past year.

Johnson credits the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio for making it possible for her to quit her job working for a nonprofit and begin working on Zora’s House full time in January 2021. The unrestricted $50,000 grant was transformative. Since then, Johnson has added eight employees. The Zora’s House board has evolved as Johnson stepped into the role of CEO rather than being solely a founder.

Board chair Jennifer Walton, chief brand officer of Sky Nile Consulting, calls Johnson’s selection as CEO of the Year by her peers a radical act. “When we talk about authenticity, oftentimes many people are like, ‘Oh, it’s being able to talk about what you did over the weekend with your co-workers,’ ” Walton says. “We believe that authenticity is telling the truth, even when it is uncomfortable, and that can be lonely.

“LC stands in the rooms that many people haven’t given us access to before, and she tells the truth. And every single time I observe it, I see her vision grow beyond her. And when you honor her and this organization, that is truly radical work.”

About LC Johnson

Founder and CEO, Zora’s House

In role since: 2018

Age: 35

Education: Bachelor’s degree in women’s studies, Duke University

Community involvement: Volunteer for Mental Health America of Ohio’s POEM program (Perinatal Outreach and Encouragement for Moms)

Katy Smith is a freelance writer.

This story is from the CEO of the Year package in the Winter 2024 issue of Columbus CEO.