Sharon D. Johnson, PhD, is a Lecturer in the Dept. of Africana Studies. She is a depth psychologist, dream educator, screenwriter, and scholar of television, film, and African American arts; literature; & culture. Dr. Johnson is also an Equity-Minded Teaching Peer Reviewer for the Faculty Development department.
Dr. Johnson successfully crowdfunded her original dream research, "Sisters of Sakhu: Does Dream Work Affect Black Women’s Mental Well-Being?," in 2016, and continued that research as "Sisters of Sakhu: Revisiting Black Women’s Engagement with Dreams, 2016-2024," with a CSUN G.E. Honors Research Fellowship. Psychology major Tamara Sims served as her research fellow.
Dr. Johnson is a 2x Matador MVP (Most Valuable Professor), in Fa2023 & Sp2025.
Outside of the academy, Dr. Johnson is a Script Consultant for PBS Masterpiece. She has been an active member of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) since 1993, and was Chair of the WGAW Committee of Black Writers from 1999-2003. She is a widely published cover & feature story writer, editor, author, screenwriter, and produced TV writer and has appeared on news and information programs on ABC, BET, KCAL, and KCET, Telemundo, and LA Talk Live discussing diversity issues. Dr. Johnson holds a BA in the Program in the Arts-Writing from Barnard College, an MA in Media Studies from the New School, and a PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She applies the lens of depth psychology in all of her work.
