Amy Johnson

Amy is an attorney, nonprofit executive, and community leader who focuses her efforts on empowering low-income families to overcome systemic barriers that cause and perpetuate poverty. As the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission’s Executive Director, she coordinates statewide efforts to ensure that all Arkansans have access to the civil court system to seek redress for legal issues affecting basic human needs. Amy also staffs the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation and Arkansas IOLTA Program, which engage in resource development and grantmaking initiatives to support the objective of increasing access to justice. She currently serves on two national boards: the National Association of IOLTA Programs and Management Information Exchange.

In addition to her work in the legal sector, Amy is an advocate for initiatives that promote health. She is a founding board member of Harmony Health Clinic, a free health clinic that serves low-income uninsured residents of Pulaski County, and she also serves on the board of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. Amy previously served on the boards of Little Rock Community Mental Health Center, Reach Out and Read Arkansas, and as Vice Chairperson and inaugural member of the Arkansas Commission for the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Initiative. In 2012, she was one of ten national recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award.

Amy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Hendrix College, where she graduated cum laude with distinction. In 2002, she earned her Juris Doctorate with high honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Amy has been recognized as a Hendrix College Distinguished Young Alumna (2010), a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader (2012), a recipient of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Lawyer Community Legacy Award (2013), as UALR William H. Bowen School of Law’s Outstanding Alumna for Public Service (2013) and Alumna of the Decade (2016), and The Marie Interfaith Civil Leadership Award (2015).