Corbin Johnson
2026 Kathy Collins Spirit of Service Award
The ISC is proud to award the Kathy Collins Spirit of Service Award to Corbin Johnson, whose heart and work reflects the very heart of the award. A longtime ISC volunteer, presenter, Program Council member and president, and Board member, Corbin’s service and leadership flows from gratitude and cultivates joy.
Corbin Johnson’s Ignatian journey began not in conviction, but improvisation. Fresh out of college, Corbin joined the Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education and was placed at a Utah Catholic High School. He found himself teaching Sophomore Theology, despite having no formal preparation. When he went looking for guidance, Corbin was introduced to a simple, five-minute daily examen, which became shared daily practice with the students. It was Corbin’s first formal encounter with Ignatian spirituality and became a practice he found himself returning to time and again.
That grounding was forged as Corbin navigated his early challenges of teaching, contributing to community life, and nurturing a long-distance relationship with girlfriend (now wife) Anna, who was living ten time zones away in Uganda. Ignatian spirituality offered Corbin something new: an invitation to move beyond rote prayer toward a faith that could meet real questions and real lives.
“What appeals to me most about Ignatian spirituality is the invitation to see God in all things,” said Corbin. “That perspective has shaped the way I approach both my faith and my daily life, reminding me that the divine is present not only in moments of prayer but also in the ordinary rhythms of work, relationships, and community.”
After moving to Seattle in 2014, Corbin found the Ignatian Spirituality Center almost by accident. While working nearby, he stopped into a weekday Novena at St. Joseph Parish. The experience left a lasting impression. Corbin was, in his words, “hooked.” His return participation soon grew into deeper involvement—through programs, service on the Program Council, and eventually joining the ISC Board at Kathy Collins’ invitation.
Through his formation with imaginative prayer and Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL), Corbin discovered a faith that felt active, personal, and alive. Ignatian discernment has informed his major life decisions, including graduate school, pivoting career fields, marriage, and parenting. “I want to emphasize just how profoundly the tools the ISC has given me have shaped my life,” Corbin said.