I chose to serve on ESLC’s board because I thought it would be a unique opportunity to lend my voice to the cause and to stay engaged with the organization after working on the staff for a few years. I first learned about ESLC in 2015, when I was living in Towson following my college years, and I began to look more into the history and landscape of the Eastern Shore. In hindsight, I was searching for ways to stay connected to my identity and sense of place. When I came across multiple mentions of ESLC in the Talbot Spy, I was struck by how sophisticated, yet down-to-earth the organization felt. For once, I had come across a group of people who were talking about the Eastern Shore in a way that I could see it, yet didn’t have the words to articulate. The Eastern Shore is a special place because, in my opinion, its one of the finest examples of humans having a meaningful connection with the natural landscape, and I love that family culture runs deep here. ESLC’s work has harnessed that feeling into a powerful cause that has generational staying power.
Originally from Big Woods and Still Pond in Kent County, Darius Johnson holds a BA in Business Management with a specialization in accounting and finance from Washington College. Johnson has worked in many fields including medical fundraising, affordable housing, worker development, public history, and land conservation with ESLC. He also served as a co-facilitator and program developer for LEAD The Shore, a leadership development program on behalf of Envision the Choptank that served disenfranchised communities in Caroline County. Johnson currently works as an independent consultant and as a Digital Justice Fellow for Chesapeake Heartland, an African American Humanities Project based out of Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.
Currently pursuing an MA in Historic Preservation at Goucher College, Johnson recently received the Lee Prize for best graduate paper. Johnson was named an African American Trailblazer by Kent County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Committee, a Built Environment Scholar and Community Engagement Scholar by Goucher College, a 2022 Volunteer of the Year by Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, a Kent County Next Generation Scholar, and a Mildred Colodny Diversity Scholar by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He is a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program. In addition to serving as the President of the Chesapeake College Foundation, a trustee of Maryland Historical Trust, and a volunteer with the Kent County Historic Preservation Commission, Johnson is a member of the conservation programs committee on ESLC’s Board of Directors. Johnson and his family now live in Easton, but his favorite place on the Shore continues to be the back deck of his parent’s house in Big Woods.