Jaseline Johnson
University of Tampa, adjunct professor
Johnson is currently teaching cross-cultural communications at UT, a course that taps into her experience as a television producer in Asia. Fluent in Malayalam and French, she became a media consultant after a successful run as a producer.
But during the Asian economic crash in the late 1990s, Johnson lost her job as a producer because she was an expatriate with no seniority at the company. The layoff proved to be a life-changing event.
Johnson had produced game shows that won an Asian Television Award in 1998. At the awards night, she parlayed that recognition into becoming senior producer for Dateline Malaysia, which was heavily covered by international media and gave her the exposure and experience that prepared her for her next step.
That success enabled her to become a media consultant for various networks in Asia over the next four years until she was appointed as an associated producer for Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in Canada.
Her expertise in corporate media and her fluency of Asian language brought her numerous clients from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and the American United Emirates.
Working with international corporations has given Johnson an opportunity to mingle with some of the world’s richest and most powerful businessmen. One common thread among them was: “You must never get too used to a comfort zone. To be successful, you need to work outside of your safety net,” she said.
Success seems to be connected with action and successful people make mistakes, but they don’t quit, she added.
Johnson was recently accepted to the board of directors for the United Nations Association for the United States of America, Tampa Bay Chapter. She is also establishing a soup kitchen in St. Petersburg to feed the homeless and poor.
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