Bonnie St. John
Civic leader and skier Bonnie St. John was born on November 7, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan to Ruby Cremaschi-Schwimmer, an educator, and Lee St. John, an engineer. St. John's leg was amputated at the age of five; and in 1979, St. John began skiing with an amputee club. She graduated from Mission Bay High School in San Diego in 1982, and competed in the 1984 Winter Paralympics, where she won two bronze medals and a silver medal, becoming the second fastest woman in the world on one leg in that year, and the first African American to medal in the Winter Paralympics. St. John earned her A.B. degree in government magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1986, and received a Rhodes scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, where she earned her M.Litt. degree in economics in 1990.
Upon graduation, St. John began her career in sales at IBM. In 1992, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a director for human capital issues for the White House National Economic Council. St. John left her position at the White House in 1994, and pursued a career as a writer and motivational speaker. She also founded Blue Circle Leadership, a business consultation agency with clients that include Target, FedEx, Microsoft, Pepsi, and Disney, among others. St. John was asked to speak during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah; and in 2010, she represented the United States as a member of President Barack Obama’s official delegation to the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.
St. John was selected by NBC Nightly News as one of the five most inspiring women in America in 1996. She also made appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, Montel, and the Discovery Health Channel. St. John received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Lasell College in 2004, and President George W. Bush honored St. John for Black History Month at the White House in 2008. She wrote six books, including two Amazon #1 bestsellers – Live Your Joy, published in 2009, and How Great Women Lead, which was published in 2012 and co-authored with her daughter, Darcy Deane. How Great Women Lead featured a compilation of interviews with influential women leaders such as Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
St. John is married to Allen P. Haines, and has one daughter named Darcy Deane.
Bonnie St. John was interviewed by The History Makers on August 11, 2016.
A2016.009
Female
08/11/2016
St. John
Married
Harvard University
University of Oxford
The Bishop's School
Mission Bay High School
Bonnie
Detroit
STJ01
Summer
Michigan
None
People Fall Down, Gold Medal Winners Get Up First.

New York
11/7/1964
New York
United States
Chocolate
Civic leader and skier Bonnie St. John (1964 - ) was the first African American to medal at the Winter Paralympics. A world renowned keynote speaker and leadership expert, she also authored seven best-selling books.
International Business Machines (IBM)
The White House
Blue Circle Leadership, Inc.
Red
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Bonnie St. John's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John lists her favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John recalls winning a bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Paralympics
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John describes her mother's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John describes her mother's upbringing in New York City
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Bonnie St. John describes her parents' marriage
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Bonnie St. John describes her earliest childhood memory
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Bonnie St. John talks about her mother's ancestry
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Bonnie St. John describes her father's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Bonnie St. John talks about facing discrimination from her white father's family
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Bonnie St. John describes her father's family background, pt. 2
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John remembers being sexually abused by her stepfather
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John talks about seeking therapy for her childhood sexual abuse, pt. 1
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John talks about seeking therapy for her childhood sexual abuse, pt. 2
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Bonnie St. John talks about being born with a disabled right leg
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Bonnie St. John recalls her hospital stay after the amputation of her leg
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Bonnie St. John remembers the Palmer Way School in National City, California
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John describes her introduction to skiing
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John recalls her training at the Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke, Vermont
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John remembers her decision to attend Harvard University
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John describes her experiences at Harvard University
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Bonnie St. John talks about the National Brotherhood of Skiers
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Bonnie St. John remembers her victories at the 1984 Winter Paralympics
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Bonnie St. John describes her Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John remembers working for IBM in San Diego, California
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John describes her service on the National Economic Council
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John talks about the influence of her Christian faith
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John describes her book 'How Strong Women Pray'
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Bonnie St. John recalls founding the Blue Circle Leadership Institute
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Bonnie St. John describes her accomplishments with the Blue Circle Leadership Institute
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John talks about her divorce from her first husband
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John describes her writing career and marriage to Allen Haines
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John remembers writing 'How Great Women Lead'
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John recalls her move to New York City, pt. 1
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Bonnie St. John recalls her move to New York City, pt. 2
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Bonnie St. John describes her program for women of color at the Blue Circle Leadership Institute
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Bonnie St. John talks about her book, 'Micro-Resilience'
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Bonnie St. John reflects upon her life
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Bonnie St. John shares her advice to future generations
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Bonnie St. John talks about her plans for the future
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