Ellen Johnson

Ellen Johnson (born 1955) is an American activist for the civil rights of atheists and for the separation of church and state in the United States. She served as the president of the organization American Atheists from 1995 to 2008.

Early life Ellen Johnson was born in the United States in 1955. She describes herself as a lifelong "second-generation atheist".

In November 2002, Johnson announced the formation of the Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC), a PAC to endorse political candidates who support the separation of church and state. She is the executive director of that organization. The PAC has since renamed itself as "Enlighten the Vote".

Starting in 1994, she was the co-host of The Atheist Viewpoint, a television program which was available as of 2003 "on dozens of cable systems throughout the nation and on the Internet."

On December 20, 2005, she appeared on an ABC special, "Heaven – Where Is It? How Do We Get There?", for which she was interviewed by Barbara Walters. She appeared on Larry King Live in April 2005, Good Morning America in December 2005, MSNBC's Scarborough Country on December 14, 2004, and appeared on Fox News three times in November and December 2003, and MSNBC's Phil Donahue. She was succeeded by Frank Zindler.