Bio
Dara Johnson is an Associate Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Maryland. Dara has served in several different capacities since joining the ACLU-MD staff in 2020, including core roles in implementing the Maryland Parole Partnership, the former legal intake and advocacy program, and key work on legislative priorities as Interim Policy Counsel in 2025. Since officially assuming the role of Associate Staff Attorney in February 2026, she continues to support a range of efforts, such as helping to litigate against voting rights attacks, lead the organization’s push to enact the Maryland Voting Rights Act, defending against legal and legislative attempts to restrict access to public information, and advancing her longtime focus on cases and other advocacy addressing mass incarceration.
Born in DC and raised in the area, Dara’s work with ACLU Maryland started back in 2015 as an interning law clerk, when she helped develop successful parole-related litigation while earning her Juris Doctorate at the Howard University School of Law. This both preceded and followed similar legal justice work, such as serving as a legal assistant for Maryland post conviction attorney Erica J. Suter; investigating felony cases for the Public Defenders’ Service for D.C.; and handling juvenile and expungement matters as a student attorney with Rising for Justice (formerly D.C. Law Students in Court). The main motivation of her path has been her commitment to protecting freedom and access to genuine community where empathy is paramount. This also drives her free time, where she finds joy caring for feral cats, going on outdoor adventures, and spending time with family.
