In recovery from substance use and mental illness, Marc Johnigan knew all too well the challenges and barriers of achieving and sustaining recovery and sobriety. At the early age of thirteen, Johnigan resorted to substance use. As a survivor of early childhood traumas, Johnigan sought refuge in the streets of Dayton, Ohio., where he engaged in violent and drug use—leading to incarceration and violence.

In 2007, Marc Johnigan’s teenage son was stolen by gun violence. The death of his child weighed heavily on his heart and grief sparked an epiphany that prompted Mr. Johnigan to create a greatly-needed program to help fellow community members overcome addiction and change their lives. When Mr. Johnigan left Ohio and moved to Minnesota in 2010, he made drastic changes in his life. Johnigan committed to helping people with similar experiences to do the same. Shortly after the move, Mr. Johnigan began volunteering for Project Emerge, an afterschool program for youth. Two years later, he enrolled in classes at Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC) and struggled to settle on a major. Following an inspiring conversation with one of his professors, Johnigan decided to pursue a degree in community development. Johnigan began a student-worker position providing assistance to the Director of the Service Learning department and its faculty. Johnigan assisted with planning and implementing civic engagement projects and events, and he managed the service-learning/civic-engagement database, for which he compiled, input, and analyzed data. As he became more engaged at MCTC, Mr. Johnigan spearheaded the campus organization Students Advocating Against Violence (referred to as “SAAV”). In 2012, Mr. Johnigan also became a Lay Minister at The Life Center (formerly the Inner City Church of Minneapolis – ICCM), where he supervised the implementation of the Center’s recovery outreach programs.

In April 2019, Marc Johnigan received the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) credential administered by the Minnesota Certification Board (MCB). He worked to cultivate a strong partnership with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation to advance the TCRP mission, and he served on a Hazelden advisory council that addresses the opioid epidemic in the African-American community. Mr. Johnigan was also a part of the Minnesota Medication-Assisted Treatment Prescription Drug & Opioid Addiction (MAT-PDOA) Team, and in May 2019, he advised U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome M. Adams, on the National Opioid Epidemic. One month later, Johnigan was a panelist in a discussion about overdose prevention strategies, and an advisor to James W. Carroll, Director of the White House National Drug Control Policy—a position widely known as the “Drug Czar.”

Johnigan’s passion and forte for healing others and his extraordinary insight about People of Color and what they need for support, enabled him to implement, execute, and sustain multiple culturally-relevant programs. His triumph over adversity, his multi-faceted education, and his effectiveness as a recovery advocate at the local, state, and federal levels fully equipped him with the expertise and aptitude to lead the TCRP organization, expand its programs to Ohio and other states, and broaden its reach within the recovery community of color.

Marc Johnigan passed away in a car accident during Winter 2021. His kindness, generosity, and positive impact will be felt in every community he touched for decades to come.