Mark Johnson
Professional Experience
International Rescue Committee, Communications, New York, 2003 - 2004
Wrote, edited and formatted content for Web site, internal newsletters and publications. Reported on health, education, emergencies, refugee resettlement and anti-trafficking programs.
Center for International Rehabilitation, Regional Coordinator, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala 2000 - 2002 Implemented web-based distance learning course to teach and train Central American prosthetic technicians in anatomy, and sound fundamentals for manufacturing and fitting amputees with artificial limbs. Coordinated new prosthetic technology testing, workshops and conferences. Administrative duties included maintaining a Guatemala City office, opening new Managua and San Salvador offices, with staffing, salaries, budgets, expenditures, banking, equipment purchases in each locale.
Napa Valley Register, Reporter, Napa, California: 1999 - 2000; Mountain Democrat Placerville, California: 1998 - 1999
Court and crime reporter, including many trials surrounding the methamphetamine crime epidemic, for daily newspapers. Also covered breaking news and wrote occasional features. Winner, 1999 Lincoln Steffens Award for Investigative Journalism (Northern California) for week-long series on a local slumlord who exploited his mostly undocumented worker tenants.
Human Rights Watch, Consultant, Croatia, Bosnia: 1997
Conducted interviews and research throughout Croatia for human rights report in advance of handover of disputed ex-Yugoslavia territories Vukovar and Krajina from Serbian to Croatian control, when killings and new ethnic cleansing were expected (but mostly did not materialize). Interviewed refugees, government officials, international humanitarian and political workers.
Supported international police (UNIPTF) on political issues and Dayton peace agreement implementation. Met regularly with Bosnian Muslim, Serb, and Croat police and government officials; liaised with IFOR (NATO-led multinational force) and other international organizations; closely monitored remaining minorities in Republika Srpska to prevent additional ethnic cleansing; monitored and reported political, human rights, humanitarian and economic issues.
International Rescue Committee, Head of Office, Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1995 - 1996; Tuzla, Bosnia, 1994 - 1995
Developed and implemented emergency material assistance programs, including USAID natural gas project in Sarajevo, a national seed distribution program that included a box of garden seed to every family, chicken and rabbit production, school repair, housing reconstruction and repair, and income generation programs. Also administered grants, budget and cash; supervised field, administrative, warehouse, and logistics staff; oversaw security protocol during war; negotiated contracts; liaised with government and international officials.
International Rescue Committee, Outprocessing Coordinator and Caseworker, West Africa: 1992, 1993
Coordinated resettlement for Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria. Arranged flights, HIV tests and medical exams, and departures. Interviewed refugee families and individuals to compile case files for potential resettlement for United States government and UNHCR.
International Rescue Committee, Outprocessing Coordinator, Khartoum, Sudan: 1991
Coordinated U.S. resettlement for Ethiopian refugees from Khartoum and Gedaref refugee camp in Sudan.
Writers Union of Free Afghanistan, Editor, Peshawar, Pakistan: 1990 - 1991
Supervised quarterly Afghan affairs journal. Selected and edited articles, redesigned format, organized mailing and subscriptions, organized international seminar on Afghanistan.
International Rescue Committee, Journalism Instructor, Peshawar, Pakistan: 1990
Prepared lessons and taught newswriting, current events and geography to classes of male Afghan refugees.
Freelance Writer: Sacramento Bee, New York Newsday, India Currents magazine, Peshawar Frontier-Post, Bangladesh Observer.
Education
Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, New York Master of International Affairs, International Media and Communications Specialization, South Asia Regional Concentration
Graduate Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, Bengali
University of California Santa Cruz Bachelor of Arts, American Studies; South Asian Studies Minor
Cowell College Honors, Teaching Assistant Cowell Core Course
Delhi University, Delhi, India
Languages
Conversational Spanish; rudimentary Hindi, Urdu, Bengali.