Joshua Moon-Johnson

2024-25 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow
Dr. Joshua Moon-Johnson (he or they) is a seasoned educational administrator, best-selling author, social justice educator, and speaker who has dedicated their career and life to education reform, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and racial justice. Joshua serves as the Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs at West Valley College. They also previously served in diverse roles, including as the Vice President of Student Services at the College of San Mateo, Dean of Equity & Student Services at American River College, Assistant Dean/Director of the Multicultural Student Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Director of the LGBTQ Center at UCSB. Joshua has served in faculty roles at UW-Madison, Semester at Sea/University of Virginia, Brooks Institute, and Concordia University.

Joshua’s commitment to social justice, equity and education has resulted in becoming a transformative leader and a best-selling author. Their first book, Beyond Surviving: From Religious Oppression to Queer Activism (2012), was ranked #3 on Book Authority’s 20 Best-Selling LGBT Activism Books of All Time as well as an Amazon.com bestseller. Joshua also published Queer People of Color in Higher Education (2017) and Queer & Trans Advocacy in the Community College (2022).

Joshua received a doctoral degree in adult and higher education and LGBT Studies from Northern Illinois University, a master’s in social sciences-student affairs and diversity from Binghamton University, a master’s in marketing from the University of Alabama, and a bachelor’s in business from the University of South Alabama.

Joshua currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) and is the chair of the Equity Committee. They previously served as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento LGBT Center. Joshua is from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and now resides in Northern California with his husband Aaron.