Meet Erica Johnston
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Erica Johnston has found her niche here at home without having to go very far. Currently the Community Liaison with the Including Kids Autism Center, Erica took an intriguing path to get here.
A graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Johnston attended the school aspiring to be “the next Connie Chung/Dominique Sachse,” studying Communications with an emphasis in radio and television. Working for the college radio station, this was going to be it for her because she found media so fascinating. It was her dream but little did she know, a job she had after graduating high school would lead her down a different path.
Erica met her husband after she graduated high school, while working at Chick-fil-A. In the midst of dating her husband, the couple had an opportunity to become an owner of a Chick-fil-A, located in a Beaumont shopping mall. Erica had to shift her focus to make it work.
“But you know, in order to make it big in that (media) industry, there’s a lot of moving around,” Erica said. “You go from small market to small market and hopefully to medium market and eventually get to a place like Houston, and when you do... you're a camera operator for a lot of a lot of years. You don't become Dominique overnight! That's not how it works. So I decided that I was obviously going to finish college, but change focus and just really invest my time in the business that we wanted to build.”
Erica figured her communication skills were transferable and they could make this work. Her husband would handle the operations and she would work on the marketing side. After spending time in operating a Chick-fil-A in Beaumont, in 2018 an opportunity to operate a stand alone franchise in Humble opened up, giving her the chance to come back home to Houston. For 15 years, they were Mr. and Mrs. Chick-fil-A and Erica absolutely loved it. They each had their own part to play and it worked in symmetry.
And it still does, but after some time, Erica admits, she had a “burning desire to do something different.” Acknowledging her “opportunity and privilege” to step away, she did just that. Her heart of service led her into the nonprofit world. Her experience of being the owner of a Chick-fil-A gave her the opportunity to meet so many individuals who are doing work for different causes and that’s how she got “hooked up” with the Executive Director of Including Kids Autism Center.
The executive director couldn’t believe she no longer wanted to be the “Chick-fil-A lady” anymore, which speaks to the testament of how entrenched Erica and her family are within their community. But it was time for Erica to move on and help her community in another way. And this way, would be through helping kids with Autism.
“So what really is exciting right now is the work with our young adults on the autism spectrum,” Erica stated. “It has been really interesting and I get to use my experience as a small business person to help that. We actually serve clients into their young adult years, which not all clinics do. Most of them focus on just early intervention, which is so important, because if you can get in there early you can change the trajectory many times of someone's life. But we do serve clients who wouldn't necessarily be able to be served in a public school or a private school or anything like that. What I get to do, as part of my job, is find business internships and opportunities for our clients in the community.”
“Many times business owners don’t realize the extent that our clients on the spectrum can accomplish or the value that can add to their work environments. It is exciting to open them up to the possibility of being a neurodiverse workplace. The need is great with 1 in 54 being diagnosed with autism so in the very near future we will have a large population of young adults that will need a place for meaningful employment. We are laying to ground work now!” This job still gives her the same fulfillment as she had when was owning her Chick-fIl-A franchise because it gives her the ability to serve her area in an impactful way.
Erica is also a proud mom of two fantastic kids-- Emma and Mason and has been married for 17 years to her husband Duane. They enjoy traveling as much as they can, volunteering, and attending as many Astros games as the schedule allows. “Raising a family in Houston just made so much sense! Our families are still here so our kids get to interact with their grandparents often, we enjoy the diverse culture, amazing food, and many opportunities to experience the arts. Houston has so much to offer!”
Erica’s commitment to being a community advocate started as a small business owner and has now transitioned over to the nonprofit world but with the same goal in mind: just simply helping her community and neighbors with whatever they need.
