Esther R. Johnson holds a doctorate in educational administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and both a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Virginia Commonwealth University.

 

Johnson began her career in 1976 as a math teacher for children of military personnel at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA. After 14 years working as a teacher, she joined the Department of Labor in 1990 in the Office of Workforce Security in the Division of Unemployment Insurance. She was later promoted to several leadership assignments including comptroller and associate administrator of the Office of Policy Research. She served as administrator for the Office of Performance and Technology in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) before taking over the Job Corps in March 2006.