Sheila C. JohnsonSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

Woodlands was named the #1 hotel for service in North America and the #3 hotel in the world by Travel And Leisure in 2008. (it was the only US hotel ranked in the Top 10). Johnson purchased Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf Spa Resort, in 2007.

This 72-hole resort in Innisbrook, FL, set on 900 acres, hosts the annual PGA TOUR Transitions Championship and the LPGA Legends Tour Open Championship. The business is also constructing the much-anticipated Salamander Resort Spa near Middleburg, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Johnson is a partner in ProJet Aviation, a comprehensive aviation service firm situated in Leesburg, VA that specializes in aviation consulting, aircraft purchases, management, and charter services. She is also a partner in Mistral, a manufacturer of high-quality bath, body, and home goods.

Johnson, a founding partner of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and most recently a film producer, has long had a major influence in the entertainment business. Her debut feature, Kicking It, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in collaboration with other financiers.

Her second film, A Powerful Noise, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Feature Festival in New York, and her third film, She Is The Matador, were both executive produced by her. Her most recent film, The Other City, on the HIV/AIDS problem in Washington, DC, premiered in April 2010 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Johnson was selected a global ambassador for CARE in 2006, a prominent humanitarian organization that fights worldwide poverty by empowering women because they have the unique ability to lift entire communities out of poverty. Sheila's I Am Powerful Challenge was crucial in raising cash for CARE's essential mission. Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well.

Johnson, an outspoken advocate of the arts and education, was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He also chairs the board of governors of Parsons The New School for Design in New York.

Americans for the Arts, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Tiger Woods Foundation, the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, Howard University, and the University of Illinois Foundation are all on her board of directors.

Johnson, a talented violinist, earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Illinois, as well as honorary degrees from a number of other universities. Johnson resides in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife, the Honorable William T. Newman, Jr., and their two children.