Educator | Lee Johnson III, M.A., CHES®, IMH-E®
Lee Johnson III is an educator, songwriter, and doctoral candidate in Public Health Education/Health Promotion at The University of Alabama with a concentration in mental health. His research interests include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), investigating the impacts of trauma on physical and mental health outcomes, and infant and early childhood mental health. Previously, he taught and worked with children at Arts ‘N Autism in Tuscaloosa, AL, The Child Development Research Center in Tuscaloosa, AL, and Vogel Alcove Child Center for the Homeless in Dallas, TX.
He has presented at the Child Development Resource Center in Tuscaloosa, AL and at the First3Years (formerly the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health) Food for Thought Series, in Dallas, TX. He is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) and is endorsed by First 5 Alabama as an Infant Family Associate or IMH-E® (I), for his work with children.
As a songwriter, his music is being utilized as part of a curriculum project for Vogel Alcove Child Center for the Homeless.
Lee earned a BS in Early Childhood Education and his MA in health promotion/studies from The University of Alabama
Lee is an alumnus of Shelton State Community College— where he received his AS in music education.
Educator | Lee Johnson III, M.A., CHES®, IMH-E®
Lee Johnson III is an educator, songwriter, and doctoral candidate in Public Health Education/Health Promotion at The University of Alabama with a concentration in mental health. His research interests include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), investigating the impacts of trauma on physical and mental health outcomes, and infant and early childhood mental health. Previously, he taught and worked with children at Arts ‘N Autism in Tuscaloosa, AL, The Child Development Research Center in Tuscaloosa, AL, and Vogel Alcove Child Center for the Homeless in Dallas, TX.
He has presented at the Child Development Resource Center in Tuscaloosa, AL and at the First3Years (formerly the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health) Food for Thought Series, in Dallas, TX. He is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) and is endorsed by First 5 Alabama as an Infant Family Associate or IMH-E® (I), for his work with children.
As a songwriter, his music is being utilized as part of a curriculum project for Vogel Alcove Child Center for the Homeless.
Lee earned a BS in Early Childhood Education and his MA in health promotion/studies from The University of Alabama
Lee is an alumnus of Shelton State Community College— where he received his AS in music education.
Singer-Songwriter | Infant, Toddler, Preschool Curriculum
Early Childhood Health Opportunities (ECHO)
Lee Johnson III in partnership with Vogel Alcove, a childcare center serving homeless children and families, designed a Therapeutic Enrichment Curriculum entitled Early Childhood Health Opportunities (ECHO). ECHO was a health education/health promotion project completed over the course of 7 weeks during the summer of 2016 as a continuation of work he began with Vogel in the summer of 2015.
Every day, more than 200 homeless children find refuge at Vogel Alcove in Dallas, Texas. Often developmentally delayed as a result of the struggles their families face, the children come from multiple shelters around the city. At the center, they are fed, loved, taught, and nurtured with the goal of keeping them on track developmentally.
During his time at Vogel, Lee combined his education and talents to explore ways in which music could help improve social-emotional health. In addition, he used what he learned from building relationships with therapeutic early childhood educators, and the children they cared for, to appropriately design ECHO. The ECHO curriculum included lesson plan ideas, music planning protocols, and an age-appropriate music activity document containing the 10 national health education content areas aligned with Early Head Start/Head Start objectives governing the early childhood programming. The project was created in part to serve infant, toddler and preschool age children along with providing a resource to the center's therapeutic early childhood educators.
Furthermore, Johnson's remarkable work at the center earned him a national endorsement by First3Years (formerly the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health) for this new work with the curriculum and his history of commitment to being culturally-sensitive, relationship-focused in promoting infant and early childhood mental health and well-being.
Senior Policy Analyst | Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)
ZERO TO THREE
Lee Johnson III is Senior Policy Analyst, for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, at ZERO TO THREE—the national leader on infant-toddler policy and program development.
There, he works in partnership with the Director of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (I-ECMH) Strategy, along with federal, state, and advocacy leadership staff. The teams together help develop and implement ZERO TO THREE’s federal and state policy positions and strategy on a range of issues, develop a variety of written materials, represent ZERO TO THREE in Hill and coalition meetings, and track and analyze relevant federal and state legislation and policy—contributing to the overall work of the Policy Center.
Prior to this role, Lee served as Director of the Office of Early Learning at the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, a cabinet-level state agency responsible for the nationally recognized First Class Pre-K Program, First Teacher Home Visiting Program, Alabama’s Head Start Collaboration Office, Early Childhood Advisory Council, and Child Care Quality Coaching.
During his tenure, the state agency generated and expanded its collaborative partnerships that highlighted the importance of infant and early childhood mental health. Lee would later extend his leadership to the role of state director for Alabama’s own Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, more commonly recognized as First 5 Alabama.
Former Director | First 5 Alabama®
State and National Cross-Agency Collaboration
Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education
Lee Johnson III is the former director of State and National Cross-Agency Collaboration at the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and former state director of First 5 Alabama®. First 5 Alabama®, an infant and early childhood mental health focused professional organization, strives to enhance the healthy attachment relationships between children birth to age 5 and their caregivers through promotion, prevention, and intervention supports throughout Alabama’s early childhood system. As state director of First 5 Alabama, an organization he had been involved in since its inception in January 2017, Lee advised the Board of Directors, managed and promoted the association, chaired the Awareness and Outreach Committee, and actively participated as the state representative with the International Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health (IMH).
In his role for the State Children's Policy Council he collaborated with state agency partners on matters pertaining to Alabama's children and families in all 67 counties. Lee also served as Alabama's Parents as Teachers (PAT) State Lead offering technical assistance and support to PAT affiliates across the state.
As a former early childhood educator, Lee is deeply committed to improving the quality of life for children and families through equity in early childhood systems. With a focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), he utilizes his education and research skills to support the global effort to support early learning and positive health outcomes for children. Prior to joining the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, he taught and worked with children and families at Arts ‘N Autism and the Child Development Research Center in Tuscaloosa, AL and Vogel Alcove Child Center for the Homeless in Dallas, TX before joining the University of Alabama’s College of Education, Department of Special Education and Multiple Abilities. Lee holds a Master of Arts in Health Education and Promotion, and a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from The University of Alabama.
Fellow | National Black Child Development Institute
(NBCDI)
Lee Johnson III was accepted as a Fellow into the inaugural cohort of the 2019-2020 National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) Policy Fellowship Class. He is one of 6 Fellows who were selected for this prestigious, intensive leadership opportunity. Lee Johnson III and his peers reflect a diversity of talent across the country, from five states and the District of Columbia. (Massachusetts, Alabama, Illinois, Florida, and Georgia). They represent the best in public service, policy, and early childhood education, and research.
NBCDI will provide Policy Fellows with an intensive two-year program of support and study to advance their areas of expertise and innovation. Mentors and leaders in executive coaching, personal development, policy, research, education, and equity will provide ongoing counsel and collaborative opportunities.
