Innovator

Life & Arts

Businesswoman Sheila Johnson doesn’t just take a seat at the table – she redesigns the whole room. A bona fide trailblazer, Sheila has transformed the world of entertainment, changed the face of professional sports leadership, and enlightened the hospitality industry with her intuition, intelligence, and pure grit. Over the course of more than 40 years, she has created an empire that’s not only made her more successful than she could ever have imagined, but it’s also given her something even more valuable: a voice. As the only African American woman with a principal shareholder stake in three professional sports teams, the founder and CEO of luxury hotel brand the Salamander Collection, and the first African American female billionaire, Sheila is aware of the power she wields in her voice, and she uses it well. “When I see things that are wrong, I talk about them,” Sheila, 75, says matter-of-factly. “So many times, people are afraid to talk about [things]. I feel as though, at my age and stage in life, I just might as well see what I can do before I leave this Earth.” Or rather, what else she can do. Sheila co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) with her then-husband Robert Johnson in 1980. BET became a landmark in African American television, and when it was sold to Viacom in 2000 for $3B, Sheila entered the exclusive rank of billionaires, paving her way into sports and hospitality. When the offer to invest in the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) Washington Mystics came along in 2005, the astute businesswoman didn’t hesitate once a pivotal part of the ownership deal was negotiated to include the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals. In addition to her role as President and Managing Partner of the Mystics, Sheila also serves as Vice Chairman and Partner at Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a prominent D.C.-based conglomerate that includes eight sports teams, six venues, and additional sports enterprises. Her Salamander Collection brand of hotels and resorts takes its name from the farm where Sheila resides in Middleburg, Virginia, about 50 miles from Washington, D.C. Nearby, Salamander Resort & Spa, now known as Salamander Middleburg, opened in 2013 as the brand’s first location after battling fierce local opposition and waiting out the economic downturn. Today, Sheila’s hotel empire encompasses six properties throughout the United States and the Caribbean.

Sheila (second from right) celebrating the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, with film director Spike Lee (third from left), Jackie’s widow Rachel Robinson (third from right), and guests. Image credit: Alamy

The path for this trailblazer has been far from smooth. Sheila was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to an accountant mother and one of the few Black neurosurgeons in the country. At the time, hospitals were reluctant to hire Black doctors because white patients often refused treatment from them, which forced her father to take short-term contracts with various Veterans Administration hospitals. The family moved 13 times before Sheila’s tenth birthday, until they ultimately settled in Maywood, Illinois, in 1959. While she never played competitive sports, she was a high school cheerleader and became the first African American cheerleader at the University of Illinois. Also a talented violinist, she earned a degree in music education in 1970. Despite the extraordinary success she and her husband achieved with the creation of BET, their rocky marriage was marked by his very public infidelities and other mistreatment. Sheila found her refuge in Middleburg, and it was there, in 1996, that she fell in love with – and purchased – her 168-acre property. The couple’s 33-year marriage ended in divorce in 2002. When Sheila discovered that a previous owner of her farm, World War II hero Bruce Sundlun, had used the code name “Salamander” during his service, and that salamanders are mythically known to walk through fire and survive, she was deeply moved to restore the farm’s name. “That story resonated with me right at that moment because of my divorce and having to move out to Virginia,” Sheila says.

Struggle and Resilience

A Powerful Influence

Sheila’s diverse life experience informs her professional world in unique ways. The arts have always played an instrumental role; she relies on her violinist background to ensure that every component of her business moves in harmony. “I often see myself as the conductor of my company where I’ve got to make sure that I’m listening and watching,” she says. “I’m completely organized with how we are going to continue moving forward.” The hardships she has endured have also served to influence her work. Her peripatetic upbringing, for instance, shaped her perspective on race. “When I go to hospitality events, I do not see the diversity of women, and especially people of color,” she observes. “And there are things that they do at these events that I find offensive. I bring it up to them.” When she walked into a recent gathering, she was dismayed to see a Black man tap-dancing on a raised stage in the middle of the ballroom, a reminder of the historical ties between tap-dancing and minstrel shows that perpetuated racial stereotypes. Sheila emphasizes that the hospitality industry must become more aware of such issues. “The world is changing,” she says. “It’s not just white males anymore. I just feel as though I’ve got to be honest. These are things that are very troubling for me. The hospitality business is afraid to make waves. With my company, I want to make those waves. I want to show people that when they walk into the Salamander hotels, run or owned, that we celebrate diversity.” Her shrewd acumen earns deserved praise from her peers, including Kevin Carey, Interim President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the country’s largest hotel association, where Sheila sits on the executive committee. “Sheila is one of the most influential leaders in all of hospitality,” remarks Kevin. “The depth and breadth of remarkable experience she brings from outside the industry has propelled her to unparalleled success within it.”

Businesswoman Sheila Johnson. Image credit: Alamy

Sheila’s memoir, Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph, is a personal journey of overcoming hardship and finding happiness

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"When I go to hospitality events, I do not see the diversity of women, and especially people of color”

Sheila readily admits it’s not always easy. “Once I took [the Mystics] over, it was the hardest job I’ve ever taken on,” she says. “I thought hospitality was going to be hard. But this is hard because you’re so vulnerable to circumstances you have no control over. You can put what you think is the best team together, and there can be one disruptor in the locker room that can take the whole team down.” Confetti fluttered around her after the Mystics won the championship in 2019, and the franchise continues to chase its next crown.Though Sheila acknowledges that losing is hard for her, her influence goes beyond game results. She cautions players not to take their platform for granted and encourages them to use their voices to drive change. “Sheila has been a huge advocate for the WNBA for many years, and her ownership and engagement with the players and the league is a testament to her unwavering commitment to cultivate a world where women’s sports thrive,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says. “Sheila continues to craft a legacy of empowerment and opportunity for the next generation of diverse leaders.” Sheila’s philanthropic endeavors infuse her life with purpose. The 50 fellows she supported through the Sheila C. Johnson Leadership Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School call her “Mama J.” She dined in L.A. recently with one of the fellows who lived in his car while homeless but now runs his own investment firm. “I was almost in tears as I listened to him talk about how he’s grown,” Sheila remarks. “He’s just brilliant.” While the global ambassador for CARE, an organization dedicated to fighting global poverty by empowering women, her “I Am Powerful” campaign raised $10M. The effect on Sheila was invaluable. “It was the beginning of my regrowth,” she says. This year, Sheila was elected to the PBS Foundation Board of Directors, allowing her to leverage her extensive entertainment experience to support national fundraising efforts.

Despite her powerful public persona, Sheila says that during her first marriage she felt voiceless. Her late mother, Marie Crump, was a strong influence in her life and encouraged her only daughter to share her story in print to regain her power. “You were born differently, with resilience,” Marie used to tell her. However, Sheila, a mother of two and grandmother, was unsure how her family would receive the deeply personal revelations in her 2023 memoir, Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph. “I was frightened,” she confesses. “I was worried about my kids and how they were going to understand this. But once I did it, my daughter said, ‘Mom, you’re a real badass.’” “I had sat back for way too long, and it was time for me to heal my wounds,” Sheila continues. “I had to challenge myself to find the courage to write the book because that was the only way I knew that I could change. I wanted to be able to inspire other women to find their power and their courage. I’ve had so many women come up to me, even during book signings, crying, and say, ‘You have helped me so much. You have no idea.’”

Sharing and Healing

After a tumultuous first marriage, Sheila could not have penned a more beautiful personal narrative, which reads like a romance novel. Her love story with William T. Newman Jr., a retired Arlington County (Virginia) circuit court judge, began in 1973, when the two bonded as actors during a Washington Theater Club production. After the curtain fell on closing night, they went their separate ways, not crossing paths again f or nearly three decades. Fast-forward to 2002, when fate intervened as Sheila found herself in William’s courtroom for her divorce hearing. The serendipitous reunion turned into a whirlwind romance. In a lavish celebration at Salamander Farm in 2005, Sheila and William exchanged vows before 700 guests. Now, the couple’s evenings are spent together in their kitchen. “We love to cook, and we love good food,” Sheila says. “I love Italian, and my husband likes soul food. I’m like, ‘Bill, we’ve got to get a little healthier.’ Italian food isn’t that fattening if you use Italian pasta.” After dinner, Sheila, martini in hand, indulges in her passion for cinema, not only as a film producer, but also as the visionary founder and driving force behind the acclaimed Middleburg Film Festival. By 9:30 p.m., it’s lights out. Her mornings are her own, however. She finds solitude on her back porch overlooking a lush garden as she enjoys a steaming cup of coffee and reviews the day’s agenda. Amid the flurry of a busy and accomplished life, it’s the warm memories of tranquility in Italy’s iconic Lake Como that bring a smile to her lips and the delightful idea to take Salamander’s flair for hospitality across the Atlantic to her mind. “Lake Como was just the most calming, most beautiful place I have ever been to,” Sheila fondly recalls. “It was special. You can walk and walk and walk. If I can get a hotel there, even a small chateau or something, that would be great.”

Salamander Middleburg is an immaculate country retreat set over 340 acres of Virginia’s wine country

“I had to challenge myself to find the courage to write the book because that was the only way I knew that I could change”

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