Katherine Johnson has extensive academic leadership experience in Australia and the UK, including as Executive Dean, Head of Department, Research Centre Director and Associate Dean, Research and Innovation. She is motivated by a commitment to social equity and environmental justice, delivering transformative student experiences, maximising research impact, and promoting a culture where staff and students flourish. In 2024 she was awarded the RMIT Vice Chancellor Leadership Award for Inclusion.
Her academic background is in interdisciplinary social sciences, particularly the intersection of community psychology, psychosocial and sexuality studies, and the use of participatory and creative methods. Prior to joining RMIT she was the Founding Director of the Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender at the University of Brighton, UK. She is a leading researcher in LGBTQ+ suicide prevention, transgender health, and early mental health interventions for LGBTQ+ youth, with international collaborations in the UK, Europe, and Mexico that focus on transforming policy, practice and lives. Her current research is funded by Horizon 2020/NHMRC, ARC and VicHealth. In 2024 she was awarded the Vice Chancellor Research Impact and Engagement Award (Open).
She has held Visiting Fellowships in Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney, Australia (2007), in social psychology and psychosocial interventions at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2009-2012), in participatory action research and LGBT health inequalities at the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Brazil (2016), in social sciences at the Universidad de Colima, Mexico (2016), and at the Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender, University of Brighton, UK (2018-2022). She is a Chartered Psychologist, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
