There have been a lot of celebratory send-offs for former Guilford County staff, commissioners, and other county leaders over the years, but at the Thursday, Sept. 4 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, Guilford County Family Justice Center Director Catherine Johnson got the royal treatment like never before.
Johnson, the only director the Family Justice Center has ever had in its 11-year history, is leaving the county to take the position of president and CEO of Alliance for HOPE International – a global nonprofit dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
The Thursday night meeting was quite a celebration of Johnson. In fact, the party started about an hour before the meeting with a nice spread of meatballs, shrimp and other delights in the foyer outside of the commissioners meeting room in the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro.
(Guilford County Budget Director Toy Beeninga, when asked by the Rhino Times if the county had the funds to afford the spread did not wish to comment on the matter.)
Johnson’s last day with Guilford County was Friday, Sept. 5 – the day after the giant send off. At the meeting, Commissioner Kay Cashion, who was a driving force in establishing the center had many nice things to say about Johnson’s decade at the helm of the Justice Center.
The person filling the big shoes is Sonya Desai, who was appointed as the interim director for the Guilford County Family Justice Center, effective Saturday, Sept. 6.
Desai began her career with Guilford County as a front-line navigator in June of 2015 when the Family Justice Center first opened in Greensboro. The following year, she transitioned to a coordinator and, in 2018, was promoted to the manager of the Greensboro site.
She can be seen in the picture above with Johnson and with two former county commissioners – Alan Branson and Hank Henning – whose votes were important in establishing the center years ago.
“I am honored to serve as Interim Director of the Family Justice Center,” said Desai. “I look forward to enhancing collaboration with Guilford County and our partner agencies to ensure the Family Justice Center remains committed to serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse.”
New County Manager Victor Isler was enthusiastic and optimistic about Desai.
“I am pleased to announce Sonya Desai as Interim Director of the Guilford County Family Justice Center. With over 20 years of experience in the field of domestic and sexual violence, she brings deep expertise and unwavering dedication to this role,” he said.
“Over the past decade,” he added, “Sonya has proven herself to be an outstanding leader. I am confident that under her guidance, the Family Justice Center will continue to uphold its strong commitment to the community, while providing consistent, compassionate support to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.”
Desai has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in criminal justice with a concentration in public safety administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
According to a statement from the county: “Guilford County is committed to serving victims of abuse. County administration will work together with FJC executive partners as they assess recruitment priorities and candidate qualifications for the permanent FJC Director position.”
Johnson’s exit comes after more than a decade of building and leading one of the most highly respected family justice centers in the country.
She was hired in 2014 to build out what was then just an ambitious idea – bringing law enforcement, prosecutors, social service agencies, nonprofits and advocates together under one roof – and then turn it into a functioning hub for victims of abuse.
It took years to get the funding put together for the Justice Center and, during the September 4 commissioners’ meeting, when she spoke, she joked that she still had a copy of an old rhino times with a story and cartoon about how the center had lost its funding and may never get off the ground.
However, she said, everyone pushed ahead.
When the Family Justice Center finally did open its doors in June 2015, Guilford County was only the second county in North Carolina to operate a center of this sort. Since then, the center has become a model that officials across the state and the country have studied, praised and sought to replicate.
In the decade since its opening, the Center has served more than 100,000 people. And what began as a single site in downtown Greensboro grew into a two-location system when the High Point center opened in 2018.
Both facilities provide “coordinated services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse and stalking.”
It’s considered a one-stop shop: Instead of survivors having to navigate multiple agencies across the county, the Center was designed to ensure that they could receive comprehensive help in one place – everything from filing a police report to seeking a protective order to connecting with counseling and shelter services.
Johnson – with her background in psychology, marriage and family therapy – and with nearly two decades of experience in the field – built the program and its team from scratch.
The Family Justice Center hasn’t gone unnoticed outside of Guilford County: State and national organizations have recognized the Center for its trauma-informed approach and its ability to line up diverse agencies and give them a shared mission.
In 2023, then North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein presented Johnson with a Dogwood Award, which is given to those who make outstanding contributions to the state.
The Triad Business Journal named her an Outstanding Woman in Business. Earlier in her professional life, she received the Early Career Award from UNC Greensboro’s School of Education and was named Outstanding Practitioner of the Year by the state’s marriage and family therapists association. Years ago, she even won an award for “Hottest Guilford County Department Head” back when awards such as that were not considered so politically incorrect.
The Rhino Times has covered the Family Justice Center extensively over the past decade – often noting how it’s been held up as a model by other counties and by state leaders.
When the Greensboro downtown office was officially named the Katie S. Cashion Center in 2024 – in honor of the longtime commissioner who championed its creation – Johnson credited both Cashion and the Board of Commissioners with sustaining the initiative that demanded vision and long-term commitment.
This summer, the Family Justice Center faced an unexpected disruption when a fire broke out at the Cashion building on July 6 of this year. The fire caused smoke and HVAC damage that forced the county to shut down the entire facility, displacing not only the Family Justice Center but also several county departments.
Within weeks, however, Johnson and her staff had relocated operations to a temporary space in the county courthouse on Eugene Street in downtown Greensboro, and survivors had continued access to services without interruption. That quick recovery reinforced what county leaders have long said – that the Family Justice Center is more than just a building: It’s a mission and a team that adapts to keep residents safe when needed.
County Manager Victor Isler called Johnson’s departure bittersweet.
“There are no words to fully describe the tremendous impact Catherine has made in Guilford County and beyond on behalf of victims and survivors,” Isler said. “Catherine has grown the Family Justice Center into the powerhouse agency it is today, providing thoughtful and careful leadership at every turn. While we will miss her stewardship within the organization, we know she will continue to fight for those whose voices would be stifled. This opportunity with the Alliance for HOPE International is one that she could not let pass, and we wish her all the best in her new role.”
Johnson herself described the role as both a capstone and a new beginning.
“It has been the greatest honor of my career to serve the residents of Guilford County and to build and lead the Family Justice Center’s extraordinary team and partners in providing safety, support and hope to survivors,” Johnson said. “I have learned so much over the last eleven years and look forward to continuing my advocacy in this transformative leadership opportunity with the Alliance for HOPE International.”
She thanked the county manager and county commissioners for their support over the years.
“I am incredibly grateful for Victor’s outstanding leadership and for the unwavering support from him and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners that has allowed our Family Justice Center to become a nationally recognized model,” she said. “I am proud of all we have accomplished together, including the agency’s 10th anniversary celebration this year. I am fully confident that the Family Justice Center will continue to grow and serve as a beacon of hope for years to come.”
She’s now moving on to a very important and high-profile job.
The California-based Alliance for HOPE International, the nonprofit that Johnson will soon lead, is one of the most influential organizations in that field. It offers training, research and policy guidance to agencies across the country and around the world. Its work centers on developing collaborative, trauma-informed and hope-centered approaches to assisting survivors of violence.
For Johnson, who’s spent her career creating and refining a highly effective local instantiation of that model, the move seems to be a natural progression.
