Dr. L’Aurelle Johnson selected as 2026 Bush Fellow

© Caroline Yang (http://carolineyang.com/)

The University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy is proud to celebrate L’Aurelle Johnson, PhD, associate dean for Community, Advocacy, Resilience and Empowerment and associate professor in the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, on being named a 2026 Bush Fellow.

Johnson prepares future pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and health professionals to deliver more effective and responsive care. As an associate dean, she leads efforts across three campuses to strengthen how students are trained, how faculty teach and how care is delivered, with a focus on improving outcomes for patients who have historically been underserved. Her teaching and leadership have reached learners across pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, occupational therapy, medical laboratory sciences and other health professions. She has designed and led efforts to expand opportunities for students across diverse lived experiences, secured significant funding, published research in pharmacology and health education and helped integrate new, award-winning approaches into curriculum and training (2025 HEED Award).

“My leadership is rooted in the belief that excellence in health care must be measured not only by discovery and innovation, but by whether people and communities experience care that is trustworthy, responsive and effective,” Johnson said. “For me, generational health is generational wealth. When we improve health outcomes, expand access to opportunity and prepare future pharmacists, scientists and health professionals to serve the whole person, we are also investing in the strength, stability and legacy of families and communities.”

Through the Bush Fellowship, Johnson will deepen her leadership at the intersection of health equity, pharmacology, education, policy and innovation. Her goal is to help make Minnesota’s excellence in health care the model for equity across the nation and the world. To help achieve this, she will pursue state and national policy fellowships, complete a health systems management certification and strengthen her expertise in how data and artificial intelligence are used in health care.

The Bush Fellowship is a highly selective leadership development program that invests in individuals with a demonstrated record of impact and a bold vision for strengthening communities. Johnson’s selection recognizes both her record of impact and her potential to lead transformational change in health care, education and community-centered systems.

Johnson’s fellowship plan builds on her work advancing the College’s C.A.R.E. framework Community, Advocacy, Resilience and Empowerment and her broader commitment to preparing health professionals who can respond to the full context of patients’ lives. Her work reflects a vision of leadership as both strategy and healing: a restorative remedy for systems, communities and learners who need pathways to thrive.

“I want to help shape a future where Minnesota becomes a national and global model for equitable health care,” Johnson said. “That requires leaders who can bridge science, education, policy, technology and lived experience. My goal is to strengthen that bridge so that care is not only more innovative, but more human.”

For Johnson, the fellowship represents both a professional milestone and a continuation of a leadership vision she first articulated in 2017: “As I live my highest and best self, I seek to be creative and innovative so that I can excel and persevere in my purpose.” Nearly a decade later, the 2026 Bush Fellowship provides an opportunity for her to operate more fully in that capacity.

“This fellowship allows me to grow as a purpose-driven leader while advancing legacy-building impact through transformative scholarship, strategic service and community-centered change,” Johnson said.

Johnson will begin her fellowship in August 2026. 

About the Bush Foundation

The Bush Foundation is a grantmaking organization that invests in people and ideas in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and 23 Native nations. The foundation’s goal is to inspire and support creative problem solving to improve the region for everyone. The foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth, who wanted to build their community and encourage innovation.