Johnson is a civilian staff member within the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, who has partnered with Athletics on several diversity initiatives.  In her new position she will be charged with serving as the primary contact and conduit for diversity and inclusion-related information. 

She graduated from the Academy in 1991, serving over seven years of active duty and 16 years as a selected reservist in the Coast Guard, retiring as a Captain in 2017. Johnson earned varsity letters in softball, volleyball, cross country, and gymnastics during her time at the Coast Guard Academy. She attributes many of her athletic experiences at CGA as key to building inclusive teams where all members feel valued. A former social studies teacher, she also earned a Diversity and Inclusion Professional Certificate from Cornell University in September of 2016. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D in Higher Education Leadership.

As a current OID staff member Richelle will bring an "Equity Minded" perspective to everything in the Athletics domain.  She will attend athletics division staff meetings, participate in athletic hiring committees and consult on how our cadet-athletes experience our 200-week leadership curriculum. 

While legislation requiring this position would not go into effect until 2020, the senior leadership team felt strongly that moving forward with this new position was in the best interests of the Academy, particularly for the more than 600 cadet-athletes that represent CGA Athletics.