Diversity moves are being powered by the minute and following suit, Constance Hill-Johnson, Owner and Managing Director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services in Cleveland Ohio has been appointed chair of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Foundation- the world’s oldest community foundation.
Visiting Angels is an in-home service provider aimed at providing assistance to the elderly and older adults to live as independently as possible by remaining safe in their regular environments.
“The timing was right in light of where we are as a nation in terms of racial injustice,” she says. “I’m happy to be the face of the brand. This is a good time to be in this leadership position.” Hill-Johnson was on the African American Philanthropy Committee of the Cleveland Foundation for about 10 years before she was nominated to serve on the board, black enterprise reports
Hill intends to tackle racial inequality but the specifics are yet to be determined.
“It needs to be an agenda item, clearly seen and reviewed at all times,” she explains.
On leadership she says:
“I think the community needs to see me, to see a Black woman in leadership,” she says. “We have a tendency to feel better and relate more when someone who looks like us is at the table.
“To see women in corporate America, on boards, and on paying boards, this is our time! We are lifting each other. We are encouraging each other. We are speaking each other’s names.”
Hill-Johnson will for two years serve as board chair for two years, ending April 2024, and amongst her agenda is uplifting the black woman.
“This isn’t about power; it’s about serving the community and serving humanity,” she says. “We are centering the community. We are centering those we serve.”
The Cleveland Black Futures Fund (CBFF) was established “to invest in and strengthen Black-led and Black-serving social change organizations” and part of “a long-term community-wide effort to dismantle racist systems that have made communities of color vulnerable for generations.” The CBFF will have its second round of grants go out sometime in early May.
Constance Hill-Johnson, a seasoned entrepreneur, kicked off her business in 2002 and has successfully served hundreds of seniors throughout the greater Cleveland area and surrounding communities.
She brings a decade wealth of senior healthcare management experience in a variety of healthcare settings. She is regarded as both a dynamic motivational leader and speaker.
She has earned the degree of Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Health Services Administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
