Johnnie Booker

Corporate executive Johnnie Brooks Booker was born on July 31, 1941 in Forsyth, Georgia to Willie Floyd Brooks and Lillian Goodwyne Brooks Graves. She received her B.S. degree in social sciences and sociology from the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia and her M.S.W. degree in community organization from the Atlanta University School of Social Work (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Booker worked for the New York Department of Welfare before moving to Washington, D.C., where she served as a teacher for the Manpower Development Program and Training Program and was later hired by the D.C. Department of Rehabilitation in 1964. Prior to attending Atlanta University, Booker also worked with the Neighborhood Youth Corps. After graduation, she worked for the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and the Western Regional Office of the National Urban League. She returned to Washington D.C. with the Washington Bureau of the National Urban League. She later joined the federal government with The Federal Home Loan Bank Board as director of consumer affairs and civil rights. In 1989, Booker was appointed as deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 1991, she joined the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), where she served as vice president of the Division of Minority and Women’s Programs until 1995. Following the closure of RTC, she became the director of the Federal Deposit Corporation (FDIC)’s Office of Equal Opportunity until her retirement in 1996. In 2001, Booker returned to Atlanta where she served as the global director of supplier diversity at the Coca-Cola Company until 2011. In this capacity, she created a mentoring program for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) to enhance their capacity. In 2007, Booker also spearheaded the inclusion of minority developers and contractors in the construction of The World of Coca-Cola Museum. Upon retiring from the Cola-Cola Company in 2012, Booker created and served as president and CEO of The Johnnie Booker Group.

During her career, Booker was active in numerous organizations including the American Society for Public Administration, Circle-Let’s, Atlanta Chapter, Utopian Literary Club, Delta Theta Sigma Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., National Council of Negro Women, Delta Airlines Supplier Diversity Council, NAACP, Urban League, and the Hampton University Alumni Association. She also served on the boards of Women of Washington, Women in Housing and Finance, National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Fort Valley State University Foundation, and The Delta Research and Education Foundation (DREF).

Booker received numerous awards and honors including two Congressional Resolutions from the U.S. House of Representatives, the Hampton University Alumnae of the Year Award in 2009, and the Community Service Award from the Quinnipiac’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) in 2022.

Booker resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She has one son, S. Courtney Booker III, and two grandchildren, Dalyn and Aiden.

Johnnie Brooks Booker was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 16, 2023.