EARLY CHILDHOOD
Happy Johnson spent his childhood shuffling in and out of foster care homes.
His biological mother and father abandoned the family. Happy’s early childhood in the Ida B. Wells section-8 housing project ended after local authorities raided their small box apartment.
His maternal Grandparents raised him for about 3 years until their passing, which took place while he was 10.
MIDDLE YEARS
Despite early obstacles, Happy eventually performed well at St. Dorothy Elementary School and as a small-forward led the basketball team to championship appearances. He then enrolled at Hales Franciscan High School, became co-captain of the Golf Team and Class President. Happy wrote a monthly column for New Expression Teen Newspaper and hosted a community empowerment television show sponsored by The Mikva Challenge.
He was twice elected Youth Mayor by a plethora of citywide high school students, which also afforded him an opportunity to work for 2 years in the Council Chambers of City Hall. With enough course credits to graduate early, Happy took a leave of absence during the fall semester of his senior year in high school to become a full-time staff writer for the Springfield Journal-Register.
COLLEGE & BEYOND
Immediately following Hurricane Katrina , he volunteered at the warehouse of the Washington D.C. National Guard Armory categorizing donated materials like clothes, shoes and blankets.
Guided by that experience, Happy went on to serve full-time with the K44 Disaster Relief Unit of the American Red Cross Chapter of Southeast Louisiana, driving Emergency Response Vehicle #1081 in December 2005. He led a unit responsible for providing 600 meals per day to residents in the Ninth Ward, New Orleans East & St. Bernard Parish.
At the conclusion of his service as a Hurricane Katrina first responder, he founded the non-profit/non-governmental organization Blanket New Orleans, Inc. (BNO): “Leadership For Our Recovery” [now TEAM HAPPY, Inc.].
In 2005 and beyond, hundreds of High School and College students partnered with the organization to contribute more than 10,000 hours of volunteer community service toward the recovery effort. A college chapter of BNO at Georgetown University continues to make annual Spring Break relief missions. And while many federal officials neglected New Orleans, his team fought for a comprehensive probe of the government’s inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina.
After graduating with a B.A. in International Relations and American History from Georgetown University in 2007, Happy served as a National Service AmeriCorps Volunteer in addition to advancing the development of the NGO. Under this capacity, he led long-term volunteer teams in the reconstruction of homes, schools and parks.
In preparation for Hurricane Gustav, Happy joined the American Red Cross Evacuation Support Team. Their team directed the Blanket Jackson project, which provided blankets to primary shelters in Jackson, Mississippi & rural LA.
In total, the organization has provided more than 2,000 blankets to those in need.
The NGO also spearheads Bike Katrina, a 250-mile bike ride which retraces the storm path of Hurricane Katrina from Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans. The cycling journey pays homage to the victims of the storm throughout the Gulf Coast during the anniversary of Katrina. Tandem with the goal of surveying progress in the region, it primarily advances educational awareness about coastal restoration and hurricane preparedness.
Happy is a basketball coach at Lafayette Academy (2009, 2010, 2011), co-host of GoNOLA-TV and a member of the City of New Orleans MLK Holiday Planning Commission, New Orleans Jazz Institute Advisory Board and Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program.
He directs TEAMHAPPY.ORG and is author of 2 children’s book teaching teamwork, preparedness & sustainability.
Proud to call New Orleans home, Happy dedicates his journey to his late Grandmother, Henrisue.
