Cochran aide tapped for program

Rachelle Johnson

Rachelle M. Johnson, a senior aide to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), is one of five U.S. government employees selected to take part in the 2009 Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. Johnson will begin her two-year program in August. The fellowship entails Japanese language instruction and a full year in Japan working with Japanese government ministries and agencies. Johnson is the only 2009 Fellow selected from the U.S. Senate.

Johnson, who joined Cochran’s staff in 1999, is a legislative assistant responsible for advising Cochran on U.S. foreign policy, American foreign development assistance and federal education policy. She also volunteers as a reading mentor within the Washington, D.C., public school system.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Johnson earned a masters of arts in international affairs degree from Georgetown University in 2008. She is the daughter of the Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Hickman and Gladys Marie Johnson of Jackson.