Prior to founding The Ballast Group, LLC in 2005, Ms. Johnson was Director of Corporate Marketing at Abbott Laboratories, where for a new branding initiative, she managed 25 global teams. 

Subsequent to managing corporate communications for Tropicana, a $3 billion division of PepsiCo., Ms. Johnson consulted to companies including Hyatt Corp., DelMonte Foods, Kaiser Permanente, Safeway, Cisco, Eastman Outdoors and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Her team helps leaders develop innovative marketing strategies and PR programs, evaluate potential partnerships, and build better relationships with stakeholders. 

Johnson held senior marketing and PR roles with entrepreneurial medical technology companies including: MedHost, Inc., a hospital patient tracking software system, and Medical Simulation Corp., a medical technology start-up that grew from $100,000 in revenues to more than $6 million during the two years she served as Director of Communications.

Johnson's PR expertise has positioned companies as thought leaders at the forefront of publications such as US News & World Report, CNN Headline News, Popular Science, The Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Denver Business Journal, Crain's Chicago, Detroit Free Press, JAMA News, Wall Street Journal, and Travel & Leisure. 

Ms. Johnson ran an executive forum of 50 Fortune 500 leaders and delegates from government, non-profit and academia to discuss the health of Americans from the employer and consumer behavior perspectives. Johnson led the participant recruitment and content development for sponsors, including Safeway, Del Monte, and Kaiser Permanente. She also facilitated a roundtable discussion on the leading health practices of Chevron, Pfizer, Union Pacific, Cargill and DuPont.

Consulting initiatives led by Johnson include a partnership strategy methodology for Del Monte Foods, and a global digital marketing forum for sharing best practices for Global Hyatt Corp. 

Ms. Johnson earned a BA in English and communications from Rollins College, and a MA in mass communications with an emphasis on medicine and law from the University of South Florida. She attended the Nelson Poynter Institute for Media Studies and is a graduate of Dale Carnegie and of Leadership Manatee. Johnson supplemented her graduate work at the Niagara Institute for Media Relations. She is a former member of the USA Triathlon Federation, and board member of the Colorado I Have A Dream FoundationÒ. She resides in Chicago and is the founder of a business professionals group. Johnson also serves on the PR & Communications committee for WORLDCHICAGO.