Adena E. Johnston
Adena is the principal of Complete School Solutions, which partners with leaders and executives to help them become more effective and navigate the complexity of today’s challenges. She brings over 20 years of leadership and higher education experience to help people accelerate their potential, build team effectiveness, and gain feedback and perspective. Johnston specializes in creating the transformative environment necessary to foster positive change, learning, and the achievement of results, all focused on the uniqueness of each individual and team.
Prior to starting her own organization Adena served as the Metro President of DeVry University overseeing the academic integrity and fiscal health of their three Philadelphia campuses. Her previous roles included serving as Dean of Academic Affairs for the Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts; Director of Enrollment Management for Gratz College; Dean of Education and Career Services and then Executive Director for Thompson Institute, now a division of Kaplan, Inc.; and Director of Education and Career Services for the Katherine Gibbs School, now a division of Career Education Corp.
Adena has taught sociology, leadership and career development courses onsite and online for over ten years. Adena Johnston serves on the Cheltenham Township Human Relations Commission and is a past member of the University President’s Council of Select Philadelphia’s Chamber of Commerce. Serving as an accreditation evaluator and chair for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) since 1998, she has also been affiliated with the Leadership Institute of the Career College Association (CCA) and with the Management Institute of the Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators (PAPSA). She previously served as a member of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Council Advisory Board and is an active member of the International Coaching Federation. Adena is certified in LIFO and is a CCAT facilitator for non-profit organizations.
Adena received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Case Western Reserve University and is currently completing her MS (’13) in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a Coaching and Executive Leadership program at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the DeVry University Catalyst Program and the Career College Association’s Leadership Institute.