Donnetta Johnson became SSAAM's Executive Director in October 2021. She is a community leader and Hillsborough business owner who began her career as a pioneering Black woman in technology, working as a programmer and senior project manager at AT&T. Donnetta left her corporate career to pursue her passion for entrepreneurship as the founder of the Allegra School of Music and Arts in 1999. She is also the founder of the Hillsborough Music Festival, which promotes local businesses in partnership with government and the arts in support of youth mental health and suicide prevention.

The stories and histories of people of the African Diaspora have always been of great importance to her, and she is excited to join the grassroots and professional historians at SSAAM to share and celebrate our rich history and promising future.