About Johnny

Johnny Buck

Executive Director, Indigenous Just Transition
UX Researcher, Designer, and Visionary Leader

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Johnny Buck is a visionary Indigenous leader, UX researcher, and designer whose work sits at the intersection of ancestral knowledge, cutting-edge technology, and systems transformation. A proud member of the Wanapum and Yakama Nations of the Columbia River Plateau, Johnny grew up immersed in traditional lifeways; fishing, gathering, hunting, and practicing his people's cultural lifeways, experiences that deeply root his leadership in community, reciprocity, and the natural world. These teachings ground everything he builds, from regenerative economies to future-facing design systems.

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As Executive Director of Indigenous Just Transition, Johnny leads a bold initiative advancing climate justice, economic sovereignty, and regenerative futures for Tribal nations. He develops transformative programs that support Indigenous communities in designing and governing transitions away from extractive systems toward self-determined, culturally grounded models of resilience and sustainability. His leadership is guided by the belief that Indigenous nations hold the creative power to shape regenerative futures, and that innovation and tradition, when woven together, can produce solutions as enduring as the lands and waters they protect.

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Johnny’s approach is rooted in human-centered design and Indigenous knowledge systems. He holds a Master of Science in Human-Centered Design & Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, where he honed his expertise in UX research, participatory design, and user experience strategy. Known for translating complex stakeholder insights into inclusive and impactful solutions, Johnny empowers organizations to design technologies and systems that deepen relationships, strengthen collaboration, and honor cultural context. Whether building microsites to streamline state and federal grantmaking or facilitating participatory design workshops, he infuses each project with creativity, cultural sensitivity, and technical rigor.

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Johnny’s impact spans multiple sectors and scales. As UX Design Manager at the Tubman Center for Health & Freedom, he helped the design of a groundbreaking  community-owned healthcare clinics and services, guiding an unprecedented, community-led process that united healthcare providers, architects, patients, and community to create a new model of culturally grounded, whole person, and equitable care. The resulting clinics, born from the vision and leadership of Black, Native, and queer leaders, stands as a living embodiment of health justice and liberation.

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A proven movement-builder, Johnny co-founded and led the Native Youth Leadership Alliance (NYLA), a national nonprofit that has empowered hundreds of emerging Indigenous leaders across more than 50 Tribal nations. Under his leadership, NYLA provided culturally grounded leadership development, mentorship, and advocacy training, enabling young leaders to create transformative, community-driven change rooted in their ancestral traditions.

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Johnny’s expertise also extends to public policy, climate justice, and cultural revitalization. He has served as a policy advocate, program director, and cultural resource specialist, advancing Treaty rights, salmon restoration, endangered language revitalization, and land and water stewardship. His experience spans partnerships with Tribal governments, state agencies, philanthropic organizations, and grassroots coalitions, always centering Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.

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Through Indigenous Just Transition and beyond, Johnny is shaping a new design language for the future, one that honors ancient wisdom, embraces technological innovation, and builds regenerative systems rooted in justice and care. His work invites us to reimagine what’s possible when design, culture, and sovereignty move together, and to co-create futures that are as liberatory as they are lasting.