Bethany Johnson-Javois

Bethany Johnson-Javois, MSW, is a health and racial justice advocate dedicated to the advancement of child well-being in St. Louis. She is President & CEO of Deaconess Foundation, a board member of Missouri Foundation for Health, a Commissioner, St. Louis Regional Health Commission, former chair of the board of Alive and Well Communities, LLC and former CEO of the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN).

Born and raised in University City, she returns to Deaconess Foundation as President & CEO after having formerly served on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Devoted to the Deaconess mission and guided by faith, Bethany leads the Foundation in its continued pursuit of the improved health of the Metropolitan St. Louis and Southern Illinois communities and its people through philanthropy, advocacy, and organizing for racial equity and policy change.

Bethany formerly served as the CEO of the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN), a position she held for 12 years, starting in 2009. Ms. Johnson-Javois led the $3 million nonprofit in serving the region’s safety net health care providers and the local community to promote the mission of providing quality, affordable, accessible care to all residents of Metropolitan St. Louis, with an emphasis on the medically underserved. Her leadership in the healthcare sector has garnered notable recognition including being selected by Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri as a 2016 Silver Bell Award recipient for her outstanding community service, leadership, vision, and values, and being selected as St. Louis Children’s Hospital 2015 Community Advocate of the Year. She was selected by the St. Louis Business Journal to be in the 2015 class of Diverse Business Leaders and received the Access to Equal Justice Award from the Washington University School of Law’s Clinical Education Program. Under her leadership, the IHN was chosen as The St. Louis American’s Advocacy Organization of the Year in 2012.

She possesses over 15 years of experience rolling-up-her-sleeves working and volunteering in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors focused on equalizing the quality of life for under-resourced, yet vibrant people. Her expertise lies in creating systems change infrastructure and developing tactical strategies that increase responsiveness and equity for the people for whom our public systems are accountable to serve. As Associate Pastor of Monument of Faith and a licensed Evangelist Missionary in the Church of God in Christ, she is a noted motivational speaker, trainer, and facilitator around purpose leadership and spiritual development.

Notably, Johnson-Javois was named the Managing Director for the Ferguson Commission in 2015. The Ferguson Commission, an independent, volunteer group appointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, was charged with addressing the underlying root causes that led to community unrest in the wake of Michael Brown’s death. After a comprehensive study that included extensive community engagement, the Commission published an unflinching report of its findings and 189 calls to action that charted a new path toward healing and positive change for the residents of the St. Louis region.