Leo Nupolu Johnson

Leo Nupolu Johnson is an executive leader and systems-level strategist whose work bridges community transformation in Canada and sustainable development in West Africa. With lived experience shaped by eight years in refugee camps in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana before resettling in Canada in 2006, Leo brings both cultural intelligence and technical expertise to his leadership.

In 2007, he founded Empowerment Squared, an internationally recognized charitable organization committed to empowering marginalized youth and communities through education, mentorship, and systems navigation. Under his leadership, the organization supports more than 10,000 youth and families annually in Canada and West Africa and has mobilized multi-million-dollar investments in community infrastructure, education and innovation.

Leo is the visionary behind the Liberian Learning Center, which houses Liberia’s only public library and one of the country’s most environmentally sustainable buildings — demonstrating a bold model of diaspora-led, multi-sector sustainable development initiative. His leadership integrates philanthropy, public policy, education systems, and private-sector partnerships to produce scalable, equity-centered solutions.

Leo is a United Nations–trained Human Rights Expert and an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Specialist, applying socially – conscious, human rights centered, and trauma-informed frameworks to institutional reform, leadership development, and policy advocacy. His systems thinking approach centers dignity, cultural intelligence, and long-term structural change rather than short-term programmatic fixes.

Recognized globally for his impact, Leo is a United Nations Fellow for the International Decade for People of African Descent, recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal, Gandhi Peace Award, City of Hamilton World Citizenship Award, and McMaster University Global Community Impact Award. He serves as a lecturer and instructor in higher education and is a sought-after keynote speaker on systems change, refugee resilience, diaspora leadership, and sustainable development.