Dr. Katherine Johnson is a professor of sociology at SUNY Niagara (formerly Niagara County Community College), where she teaches and coordinates the sociology department. A strong advocate for qualitative and ethnographic research methods, her community-focused work includes extensive research on the adaptive reuse of the former Niagara Falls High School in Niagara Falls, NY, into the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center. Collaborating with co-author Deana Choczynski, Deana's Posts: My Journey with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis brings together ethnographic thick description, rigorous research, and Deana's personal journaling and visual storytelling to offer a compelling examination of the human side of chronic illness.
 

As an independent home health care assistant, Deana became an extension of the people she cared for, helping them maintain purpose, dignity, and as much of their lives as possible despite serious illness. When Deana developed severe ME/CFS, she recognized a level of illness comparable to what she had witnessed in clients receiving end-of-life care. The difference was stark: people with severe ME/CFS may live for years or decades with profound disability, often with little understanding or support from the medical system.

An advocate for human dignity, Deana is an author, researcher, and storyteller whose work is rooted in lived experience, truth, and perseverance. Grounded in a commitment to documentation and accuracy, in 2019 she began sharing online her daily reality living with ME/CFS to find answers and build community. Working alongside co-author Katherine Johnson, PhD, Deana's Posts: My Journey with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis combines personal narrative, rigorous research, and creative visual collages to illuminate the human realities of living with ME/CFS.