UCF Alum Leads Local Nonprofit with Mission Close to His Heart

Highlights

• After transferring to UCF through DirectConnect and earning degrees in political science and nonprofit management, Britt Johnson '23 '25MNM now serves as executive director of nonprofit Christian HELP.

• Johnson, who experienced homelessness and food insecurity growing up, now leads efforts to help Central Florida families find stability.

• Under Johnson's leadership, Christian HELP is expanding its reach through career coaching, financial literacy programs, regional job fairs and food distribution across Orange and Seminole counties.

There's something undeniably powerful about becoming the person your younger self once needed.

For nonprofit management alum Britt Johnson '23 '25MNM, that transformation came full circle.

Johnson, who experienced homelessness and a lack of resources growing up, was recently named executive director of Christian HELP, a local nonprofit dedicated to preventing homelessness by supporting at-risk households.

"I see myself in some of the children who come to us fighting hunger. … Now I lead an organization that [supports] and protects them."

The organization primarily serves the ALICE population - Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed - working families who may be one car breakdown or missed paycheck away from crisis.

"I see myself in some of the children who come to us fighting hunger and [lacking] resources because I was once that child," Johnson says. "In my own personal life, I experienced homelessness. I experienced a lack of basic necessities. Now I lead an organization that [supports] and protects them."

Establishing an Educational Foundation

Johnson's path to leadership wasn't linear.

After dropping out of high school to help support his family, he spent 17 years away from the classroom. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he enrolled at Orange Technical College and earned his GED.

He later attended Seminole State College before transferring to UCF through the Direct Connect program. At UCF, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science before enrolling in the School of Public Administration's Master of Nonprofit Management program.

That education changed more than his career trajectory - it introduced him to nonprofit Christian HELP. Its mission focuses on preventing homelessness by helping people find work, access resources and build stability.

In 2021, Johnson began volunteering there to fulfill a Seminole State honors program service requirement. But the moment he started working with clients, he recognized himself in them.

"It looked like my lived experience," he says. "I got really connected to the mission."

Rising Through the Ranks

What began as 20 volunteer hours turned into years of service and leadership. Johnson rose through the organization as volunteer coordinator, resource manager, food distribution lead and care manager before being named executive director in November 2025 - just before graduating with his master's degree.

Today, he leads with a philosophy grounded in listening first and meeting people where they are to best provide the help they need.

"When I walk into a neighborhood or a church or a city council meeting, I'm there to co-create with the community, not prescribe it," he says. "We have to listen first before acting."

Christian HELP provides everything from one-on-one career coaching, resume clinics, financial literacy workshops and skill-building sessions. Through its Central Florida Employment Connections division, the nonprofit hosts six regional job fairs each year at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, connecting employers directly with job seekers. Its food pantry distributes more than 1 million pounds of food annually across Orange and Seminole counties.

"Our services help provide stability in times of uncertainty."

For clients actively working toward employment, the organization also provides targeted financial assistance, helping cover expenses like gas, an oil change or a utility bill.

"Our services help provide stability in times of uncertainty," Johnson says. "If you're not working, you're going to tip over into a spiraling cycle of issues, and we want to prevent that."

Under Johnson's leadership, Christian HELP is continuing to expand. This spring, the organization opened a second Orange County location through a partnership with Peace United Methodist Church, bringing employment services, grocery support and financial literacy programs directly into neighborhoods.

The Heart of the Mission

In 2025, Johnson was named an Emerging Leader Impact Award recipient by Heart of Florida United Way and recognized as an Alumni Excellence Honoree by Seminole State College. He was also recently accepted into Nova Southeastern University, where he'll pursue a Doctor of Education degree in human service administration.

Still, Johnson says many of the opportunities that made these recognitions and opportunities possible began at UCF. Coursework in volunteer management and cross-sector collaboration gave him practical tools he now uses every day. Just as important were the mentorship, networking and alumni community connections that helped open doors beyond graduation.

"The biggest lesson I carry from UCF to Christian HELP every day is very simple: Access is dignity," he says. "When you build systems that are welcoming, data-informed and relentlessly human, lives are transformed."

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