Trish Johnston

Background

About Trish Johnston

If you were given the opportunity to speak to my mother she would tell you, face beaming, that I learned to read at 4 years old. She would also share a story involving a penchant for pedantry involving the word fox ("it should be fock because there's only one, fockS is plural"). This is not the last time I would be #ConfidentlyIncorrect, but it's certainly a family favorite. Of course, I remember none of this. What I do remember is how reading unlocked worlds of information, and a pressing desire to KNOW. I would yearn for library days searching the stacks for that next gem, and would wait impatiently for mail delivery from our rural mail-order library. That bag might contain a new novel, a guide to ancient Mesopotamia, and a book on computer repair. I was full of little tidbits and "fun facts"(although my friends would likely argue that "fun" is subjective). When my much younger siblings came along, new doors opened. What started as reading nightly bedtime stories morphed into animated evenings of storytelling in the oral tradition, adapting old legends to fit a young audience, and collaborative creation and improvisation of our own new tales. By this point you might be thinking "What is this lady on about?", and honestly.fair. Telling you about my childhood obsession instead of the two decades of experience I bring to the table or the results I drive probably seems an odd choice. All that what/where/when can still be found here, of course, but what work experience and skills can't tell you is the why or the how, which are the heart of everything we do. Why does an early obsession with reading and knowing matter? As I grew into an adult in the working world, with my own responsibilities beyond reading the day away, my focus changed but my obsession with knowing did not. Now, I channel that curiosity and love of learning into building a deep understanding of my customers, the products I support, the processes that drive (or hinder) progress, technology, and the humans I have the honor of collaborating with while we build cool stuff. I use this breadth of knowledge to make connections that may not be obvious, see opportunities others might miss, and make rapid, informed decisions. My love of storytelling shows up in everything I do, whether that's teaching, facilitation, breaking down complex problems into actionable parts, or influencing product decisions from engineering to the C-Suite. Whether I'm armed with reams of technical documentation, data or a pictures-only deck, I'm always excited for the a-ha moments of a story to tell.