Holly Johnson

Holly Johnson’s (MechE 1T0) career in the Canadian space industry has spanned nearly 10 years. During her early time as a Systems Engineer, she worked on the Canadarm1 and Canadarm2 space robotic mission teams where she supported on-orbit operations. She went on to lead new development projects in a variety of fields, including initial concepts for Canadarm3, and a medical robotics system that performs brain surgery in an MRI. Holly transitioned into management in 2016 where she spent two years in business development, and is now undertaking a leadership development role as the President’s Business Manager. In one of her initiatives in this position, Holly recently helped to lead the cross-country space advocacy campaign called DontLetGoCanada that resulted in the Government of Canada committing to provide Canadarm3 to the Lunar Gateway – the next International Space Station that will orbit the Moon. Throughout her career Holly has lead charitable initiatives such as the corporate Children’s Wish campaign, and she is a regular speaker and supporter of events that promote STEM and Women in Aerospace and Engineering. Holly was recognized in 2016 as recipient of the Northern Lights Aero Foundation Rising Star Award, which honours Canadian women who have made significant contributions to their field, and she was recently selected as a Top 40 under 40 recipient by the City of Brampton in 2019.