I'M TIARA

Tiara Johnson is a Board Certified Patient Advocate, Certified Community Health Worker, and Chronic Disease Educator whose life's work was forged in one of the most urgent and overlooked health crises - the disproportionate impact of illness on Black women.

 

At 25, Tiara developed heart failure following postpartum complications and repeated dismissal by medical professionals. An experience that reflects a painful reality that far too many Black mothers face, and far too few survive to talk about. After receiving an LVAD at 29 and a heart transplant at 31, Tiara survived and she has spent every year since making sure her survival means something for the women who come after her.

 

Her story is not just about heart failure. It is about what happens when Black women's pain goes unheard, when postpartum warning signs get dismissed, and when a system not built with us in mind fails us at our most vulnerable. It is also about resilience, community, and what becomes possible when a woman decides that her suffering will become someone else's lifeline.

 

Today, Tiara works in Public Health, focusing on health equity, patient empowerment, and advocacy. She hosts a monthy support group called Cardiac Connections, which is a peer support community for women living with heart failure. She creates health education content that centers the voices, experiences, and needs of Black women and underserved communities. Her approach is rooted in one conviction: KNOWLEDGE IS THE BEST MEDICINE, and everyone deserves access to it.