Soul Wealth Creator Crowned Wonder of Women's 2019/2020 National Crown Jewel, Dr. Vikki Johnson
Dr. Vikki Johnson is the proud 2019/2020 recipient of the National Crown Jewel Award, bestowed by Wonder of Women International (Wonder of Women).
“The National Crown Jewel Award acknowledges a fierce woman who embodies the mission of Wonder of Women on a national scale: Inspiring Black women and girls of color to find their voice, stand in their truth and celebrate their wonder by telling their story,”- Veronica Very, Founder & Visionary of Wonder of Women.
A self-proclaimed southern belle, Vikki was born in Fort Lauderdale, Fl, but she’s called the Washington, D.C metro area home for three decades. “I claim them both,” said Vikki. “I’m in Florida all the time.”
Wonder of Women has chosen to recognize Vikki for her lifelong commitment to helping women achieve personal growth and spiritual development through what she calls, Soul Wealth.
It’s a concept she adopted in 2014 after delivering a TED Talk on Sacred Sisterhood.
“Soul wealth is women connecting and collaborating in community,” explained Vikki. “It brings about vision, compassion, authenticity, abundance and legacy. Mentorship is the model of of my community.”
Vikki’s allegiance to sisterhood was innate and formed from a bloodline of trailblazers.
“My grandmother was the counterpart of Dr. Dorothy Heights, the president of the National Council of Negro Women, said Vikki. “During the same era, my grandmother (the mother of 16 children) was the president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC).”
Vikki reminisced about spearheading her first sisterhood organization at the age of 10. “We had four leaf clover flowers in my front yard and seeing as how zodiac signs were big in the 70’s I named our group the Clover Zodiacs,” she laughed.
About 15 girls filled Vikki’s home every Saturday. Being that she has 47, 1st cousins, she said she was used to being around lots of people. She likened her group to an all-black girls scout troop. “In addition to attending the NACWC annual convention, we had circles, etiquette training, fieldtrips and performed acts of service within our community,” said Vikki.
Vikki also credits team sports for engraining that power is ignited when girls and women are connected. “I played softball, volleyball, and basketball,” recalled Vikki. “My basketball scholarship was how I got to Howard University.”Her sisterhood experience expanded her sophomore year after pledging the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Vikki’s education led her into a near 40-year career in entertainment, media and music, 18 of which were spent at Black Entertainment Television (BET). She said one of her notable accomplishments was launching the Wrap It Up campaign to help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Her post came to an end after BET Founder, Bob Johnson, sold it to Viacom and they closed the headquarters in Washington D.C.
During her three-year sabbatical from the world of entertainment, Vikki said she made a decent living being a licensed insurance agent. But today she’s back in the field she loves working for Mayor Muriel Bowser, in the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment in Washington, D.C.
In addition to Vikki’s post in the film division of the Mayor’s office, she’ll be returning to broadcast radio in January. Fatefully radio is how she and Veronica met.
Vikki laughed as she reminisced, “I met Veronica organically. It was nearly 17 years ago. There was a gospel music conference in DC and the radio station I was working for was one of the media sponsors.”
As a media personality, Vikki was asked to host a segment called ‘Girl Talk’. She hosted it quarterly. She said it was popular because it was intimate, informal and unscripted conversation.
“As I was preparing the space within the room, my assistants were within the halls trying to usher people in and Veronica was one of them. She came in, sat in the back and observed. Once the session was over, she patiently waited for me to talk to people, sign books, and take pictures. Then she walked up with her beaming smile and said, ‘My name is Veronica, I’m from Seattle, and I want to bring you there. You need to come to Seattle!’ That is how I went to Seattle for the first time. Wonder of Women and Soul Wealth didn’t even exist yet. We just met as Vikki and Veronica.”
Vikki says that she’s grateful that Wonder of Women has chosen her as this year’s National Crown Jewel recipient. She strives and encourages others to live their lives to the fullest so that when they die, they die empty.
“Veronica and I are both living kidney donors,” said Vikki. “She donated a kidney to her mother, and I donated a kidney to my cousin. When I was contemplating becoming a donor, Veronica was one of the first people I called! Life is short, none of us know when our time will be up, so we must live fully present in every moment. Today is a blessing, tomorrow is a bonus.”
