Sam Johnson (born 14 February 1989) is a social entrepreneur from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. Johnson is known as the founder of the

Student Volunteer Army The Student Volunteer Army (SVA) is a New Zealand student movement born from a Facebook page started following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The network has no military affiliation and is focused on facilitating community action through yout ...

which mobilised 11,000 students to assist the cleanup following the Christchurch earthquakes and has continued as a nationwide volunteering movement Johnson is an international thought leader in developing models of community that build resilience through volunteering and local action.

Education and career

Johnson is from rural Canterbury and was educated at Christ's College and the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in New Zealand. Johnson graduated from the University of Canterbury with a BA in Politics and Community Engagement in 2015.

Student Volunteer Army

Following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, Johnson founded the

to assist residents with the clean up of

liquefaction In materials science, liquefaction is a process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or that generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in accordance with fluid dynamics. It occurs both naturally and artificially. As an example of the ...

caused by the earthquakes. The Student Volunteer Army was managed by a core team of 15 people and a wider administration of 70 people who managed the three core operations which the SVA focused on; battalions, squadrons and street teams. There were 13,000 students volunteering per week. StudentArmy IlamSchool

Disaster response and preparedness

In late April and early May 2011, Johnson spent two weeks in Japan following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to set up a Student Volunteer Army at Waseda University. Johnson worked to assist mobilising young Nepalese volunteers following the Nepal earthquakes in 2015. Johnson and the Student Volunteer Army worked with other young people alongside the

UNISDR The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) was created in December 1999 to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (General Assembly (GA) resolution 54/219).

in preparation for 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Local leadership and politics

Johnson successfully stood for the Riccarton-Wigram Community Board of the Christchurch City Council in the October 2010 local body elections. At the time, he was endorsed by Prime Minister John Key for his election campaign. Johnson declared in July 2011 that he had no intention to run for higher public office in the near future. In January 2013, it was reported that he may consider running for Christchurch City Council in the October 2013 local body elections. ''The Press'' reported on 20 April 2013 that

Lianne Dalziel Lianne Audrey Dalziel (; born 7 June 1960) is a New Zealand politician and former Mayor of Christchurch. Prior to this position, she was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for 23 years, serving as Minister of Immigration, Commerce, Minister ...

would challenge Bob Parker for the Christchurch mayoralty, and that she had asked Johnson to be her running mate, with a view of Johnson becoming deputy mayor. Johnson eventually decided against running, saying it wasn't the "right thing for me right now". Johnson is a founding Trustee of the Ministry of Awesome, a Christchurch-based idea incubator.

Social enterprise and business

In 2016, Johnson launched a social enterprise focused on the alarming rates of social isolation in New Zealand which then joined forces with technology platform Mycare to improve the New Zealand care and support sector.

Awards and celebrities

Johnson has received a Special Leadership Award from the Sir Peter Blake Trust and was named Young New Zealander of the Year and Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Communicator of the Year in 2012. Johnson and the Student Volunteer Army have hosted many international icons and celebrities who visit Christchurch including several members of the British Royal Family, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and organisers of the Never Again MSD gun control campaign.

Personal life

Johnson is openly gay and married to husband Tyler Brummer. The couple live in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. In 2022, they announced that they were looking for a surrogate in order to have a child.

References

External links

Sam Johnson's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sam 1989 births New Zealand gay men Living people New Zealand community activists People associated with the 2011 Christchurch earthquake People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch People from Ashburton, New Zealand