The Manassas Battlefield Trust welcomes Chérie Johnston as its new Executive Director. Chérie brings more than two decades of executive leadership, strategic planning, and mission-driven impact across nonprofit and corporate sectors, in collaboration with government partners. Her skills in constituent engagement, financial management, and fundraising, combined with an authentic passion for American history, make her uniquely positioned to advance the Trust's mission of preserving and interpreting Civil War history.
As Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Military Children’s Charity, Chérie raised over $1.5 million and distributed 140,000 gifts of appreciation to U.S. military families. She built lasting relationships with government officials, military leadership, and corporate executives, securing major partnerships across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Alongside Chérie’s nonprofit service, her corporate career includes more than a decade at Panasonic Avionics Corporation, where she founded the Veterans Business Impact Group across all of Panasonic’s North American companies. She holds an MBA in International Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Chapman University.
Chérie’s connection to American history runs deep. A twelve-year member of the Daughters of the American Revolution with documented family genealogy dating to 1633, she also served as a Presidential Docent at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and completed internships with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the office of Congressman Ed Royce, building a knowledge and love of U.S. history and policy that she now brings to her role at the Trust. Chérie arrives ready to deepen the organization’s partnership with and support for the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
To learn more about the Manassas Battlefield Trust, visit manassasbattlefieldtrust.org.
