TOP 10 BLACKS IN TECH
For the Love of Technology
Rani Johnson Chief Information Officer, SolarWinds
"Being a woman of color in leadership is only an obstacle if you make it an obstacle. Get past feelings and just work, because good people rise to the top in time. Be persistent and continue, because when you’re very successful, you may be the only one there, too."
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Rani Johnson was born in Clear Lake, Texas, in the Houston area. She had an extraordinarily college-focused childhood. Many of her friends’ parents were astronauts, and almost everyone in her community had careers working in the technology and medical fields where she grew up. Her father was an engineer, and she quickly learned his work ethic from a very young age. “I declared my major to my parents at seven years old.” Johnson always knew she was going to be an electrical engineer and was highly inspired and fascinated by the sciences. “It was just all around me…I guess my parents got tired of me taking things apart in the house…the television…to try to figure out how they worked.” So, Johnson was given the opportunity at the age of seven to sit in with a class full of adults at a community college and started learning how to program computers, really enjoying every minute she was there. She spent countless hours with her 50-in-1 electronic projects lab kits and went away to college summer programs in science and engineering starting at the age of 12. Looking back, she realizes and deeply appreciates the sacrifices her parents made for her to have these experiences to develop her natural abilities which they could see that Johnson was so passionate about. “I went to Stanford… to Clark Atlanta University, and they were expensive programs for me to pursue my interest in STEM.” She admires the conscientious way that they raised her to be sure that she explored her gifts. For example, one year for the holidays, both Johnson and her sister were given bicycles by their parents as their presents. Her sister, who was not into technology, was simply given a bike, but Johnson’s bike was left unassembled for her to SEPTEMBER 2019
