Dan Johnson

Struggle Well State Director - North Carolina

Prior to joining the Boulder Crest Foundation, Dan served the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (NC) from 1995 until his retirement on May 1, 2024. He was a Major assigned as a Division Commander when he retired. He is a 1993 graduate of The Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Law/Criminal Justice. In addition, he is a graduate of the 218th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy

In his nearly 29 years with the MCSO, Dan served in a variety of roles, including the Office of Professional Compliance (Internal Affairs), Field Operations, Arrest Processing, Courts, and Detention. He also served as the Training and Recruiting Commander directing departmental in-service and basic recruit training, promotional assessment centers, as well as recruiting for all uniformed positions. As a previous collateral duty, he served as the Crisis Negotiations Unit Commander and served this unit in various capacities from 1997 until 2015.

Since 2002, Dan has served as a General Instructor certified by both the North Carolina Sheriff’s Training and Education Standards Commission and the North Carolina Criminal Justice Training and Education Standards Commission. He routinely instructs classes specializing in de-escalation, interacting with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as instructor certification, development, and evaluation.

Dan is active with several community agencies involved in furthering awareness, acceptance, and education regarding mental health, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities, especially autism.

It is the honor of a lifetime for Dan to be a part of the Boulder Crest Team and working directly to positively impact the lives of first responders through Struggle Well. He and his wife, Gretchen, live in Union County, NC with their two children, Tyler, an adult on the autism spectrum, and Rachael, who is currently pursuing her master’s degree in clinical counseling.