Jerry Johnson

Atheist, Blogger, Change Agent, Gay, Idea generator, Marketer, World traveler, Writer/Editor

Jerry Johnson is a currently the corporate communication partner at one of India’s largest advertising agencies. Prior to this, he was marketing manager at a global conglomerate based out of Mumbai. Beyond his professional life, Jerry is also a published writer, a TEDx speaker, the curator of Mumbai’s first TEDx City 2.0 conference, and a lecturer on ethical and political philosophy at think-tank forums and universities. He is also on the Advisory Board of Blinking Peacock Productions, where his role is to offer intellectual guidance for a new television series focused on legal and political issues of the country. Jerry lived, studied, and worked in the United States for 8 years, where he graduated with a degree in Communication and a specialization in Psychology and Philosophy. While there, he worked with the Chicago City Mayor's Office in Public Information. His policy of making at least one international trip a year has seen him travel widely across continents from Thailand and Sri Lanka in the East to parts of Italy, France, and the UK in the West. Now in India, Jerry is fairly active in the television and print media circles as a thought-leader on topics of sexuality and human rights. As a gay man who was born into a deeply conservative Catholic family, Jerry openly discusses the evolution of his emotional and spiritual growth in the context of his sexual orientation in a country like India. He has appeared on several news channels such as the BBC, IBN7, CNN-IBN, and News24, and has been featured in newspapers such as the Times of India and The Mint for discussing rights, sexuality, and free speech. A full-page article on him was featured in a leading English daily called DNA in 2009. He has also been interviewed by The Telegraph Kolkata and the Time Out Mumbai magazine for his volunteer work with spreading value of philosophy through his club activities at the University of Mumbai.

I am passionate about ideas that can directly help result in successful human living.

Nothing escapes the province of logic. All human values and human actions and human experiences can be logically comprehended. And, that with a greater understanding of the science of human behavior--the province of philosophy and psychology, it is most certainly possible to achieve overall improvements in the condition of the human life itself. It has worked for me in helping me achieve happiness, and confidence in my self. I wish to advocate these better ideas, in the fullest and truest spirit of TED.

Critical Analysis, editing - academic, technical, creative writing, gay and lesbian issues, Human Rights, Philosophy (ethics, political philosophy, political economics), Public Speaking and Teaching, Queer Theory, Self-Esteem, Thinking and Reasoning, Writing - Blogs, articles

I am an atheist and openly gay man, living a financially independently in Mumbai with my boyfriend of more than 3 years. Reaching this emotional and psychological space in my life was no small feat: growing up a highly conservative, Catholic, South Indian family, I was highly attuned to issues of social face, and the fear of punishment. My migration to the United States and my studies in philosophy for more than 8 years have been instrumental in my shrugging off the past and re-inventing myself as an independent thinker and philosopher, able to challenge both my personal history as well as the traditions of this country. Philosophically, I identify closely with the Aristotelian ethical tradition and the 20th century philosophical system of Objectivism, developed by Ayn Rand. I am a US-graduate in Communication and have also extensively studied Social Psychology and Philosophy for almost 10 years now.

Writing poetry :)