A former high school teacher/administrator, non-profit leader, and start-up executive, Dr. Johanek is a Visiting Scholar in the Center for History and Education, Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study, where he is writing a book on the last five decades of school reform efforts through the lens of a Chicago community organization, exploring the varied means local leaders have taken to affect change in this central public institution. He currently teaches as Adjunct Professor in the Education Policy & Social Analysis Division (TC). He currently directs the Red Interamericana de Liderazgo Educacional (RILE) and The Judgment Project. He teaches as Profesor Invitado Internacional at La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Profesor Invitado of the educational leadership programs at La Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia.

Previously, he served as Vice President of Professional Services for Teachscape, a for-profit blended technology services company, where he managed all service engagements nationally. He is the former Executive Director for K-12 Professional Development, The College Board, where he managed programs supporting over 500,000 middle and high school teachers, college faculty, coordinators, and administrators, including those involved in the Advanced Placement Program. He founded, developed, and managed a program development and operations department with responsibilities including new product development, in-person training, web services, electronic and print publications, regional office operational support, marketing and research. A former high school teacher in Cleveland, New York, and Lima, Peru, he taught in and managed the Fellows in Teaching Program and Urban Fellow Program at Teachers College, Columbia University prior to joining the College Board.

Current research interests include the nature of situated judgment in leadership development across professions; the history of recent urban educational reforms, especially as instruments of civic engagement and development; community-centered and place-based approaches to education; and the role of global professional infrastructure in educational leadership.

Recent publications include Johanek, M. (2022). “If you want justice, organize for power!” Community organizing, Catholicism and Chicago school reform. Journal of Educational Administration and History; and Volante, P., Jeldres, R., Spero, K., Llorente, C., & Johanek, M. (2020). Simulations for the learning of decision making in educational leadership in the context of the Chilean school system. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 5(1), 1–41.