Profiles: Claudia Johnson ’80

In the first year as a Director for the University of Oregon Alumni Association Board, Claudia Johnson '80, works with the Communications Committee and has returned to campus to connect with students in events such as Connect the Ducks, the annual dinner that matches alumni and current students to discuss careers and "real world" knowledge.

Johnson, the principal of Claudia Johnson Strategic Communications, is a graduate of the School of Journalism and Communications and the Honors College, and is a Gamma Phi Beta. In addition to owning her own company, Johnson is very active in the community. She is a co-founding Board Member of the Greater Oregon Academy of Leadership and Service (GOALS) and has received a Public Relations Society of America Award for Excellence.

She lives in Canby, Oregon with her husband and two children Alex Anne and Peter.

What is your current profession?

I am a principal in my own public relations consultancy providing strategic communications services to clients. I focus on helping clients develop their key messages and communicate them to the media and their target audiences.

While I am working on a number of public relations programs and projects right now, the most extensive is for ‘Shaping America’s Youth,’ a huge national health initiative working in conjunction with the US Surgeon General’s office to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity. It’s been a rewarding piece of work. Our goal is to bring a National Action Plan to Congress in the next two years on how to address this national health crisis.

Why are you still, and what makes you want to be, connected to the UO through the Alumni Association?

I absolutely LOVED my experience at the University of Oregon so I love being re-engaged with what’s going on there. I really feel like I grew and branched out during my time at the University of Oregon. My experiences at the Honors College and in the Journalism and Political Science programs really provided the foundation that has brought me where I am in my career today.

I also feel strongly that one of my gifts or talents is in mentoring young people and I love sharing my own experiences and passion while advising students coming along. I am very passionate about my time at Oregon. Green runs through my blood veins; my parents went here, my grandparents went here; my husband and my father got full athletic scholarships at UO; I come from a long line of Ducks, and I love it. I wonder where my kids will go!?

What is your biggest accomplishment since college?

I’ve had so many wonderful and rich experiences since graduating that I really cannot say there is any one thing. After tasting some corporate PR roles, I found myself more drawn to an entrepreneurial ventures.

My first job out of college in 1980 was as statewide press aide for Dave Frohnmayer’s campaign for Attorney General! Then I started at KATU, Channel 2 as a producer and I went to Cellular One, the first cellular phone company in the Pacific NW, and was also a Vice President for Corporate Communications at Enron Broadband. But I think my biggest accomplishment is consistently bridging a stable and successful career life with a very rewarding family life.

My husband said to me the other day, “I think you’ve created what most women want to create in a career life. You are successful and thoroughly enjoying what you do, AND you get to be home when the kids get home from school.” I get to travel across the nation for my clients but I live in Canby, Oregon, I work out of my home and I am sitting here now looking out my window at farmland. I have two wonderful kids Alex Anne who is 12 and Peter who is 9, and I just love that I have a life that allows me to do and be both a career professional and a mommy.

How has the UO had an impact on your life?

I had such a rewarding educational experience and a social experience. My time at Oregon was a major grounding and foundational-building for me. Also, I realized through my education, that the sky is the limit for what anyone wants to do. You are given every opportunity to really further your knowledge through experiential learning and internships if you take them. I was fortunate enough to work at a lot of volunteer and intern positions that really helped me identify what I wanted to do. I realized early on in my time at Oregon that there is a lot of opportunity on or near campus, but outside of the classroom.

Did you/do you have a mentor – someone that has helped you in your career or made a significant impact in the early years of your career?

My first job out of school in 1980 was with current UO President Dave Frohnmayer, who I admire and have continued to look up to since my time working with him. I was the statewide press aide for his campaign for Oregon Attorney General – what a great way to use my Journalism and Political Science studies in the real world!

There were so many talented and influential people who served on Dave’s campaign steering committee and there were a number of public relations and communications professionals who have mentored me along the way -- two of which were Karen Whitman and the late Ron Schmidt.

What part of college made a significant difference in your life, made you who you are?

Creative writing and journalism studies are some, so definitely the School of Journalism. But as a holistic person, I believe that my experiences in the dorms freshman year, belonging to a sorority, being in the Honors College and my experiences all woven together has made a huge impact of my life. I have some great memories.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

I see myself very much where I am now. I love my life! I see myself balancing a list of projects I really want to work on, keeping the pace a little slower, watching the kids grow up, sitting by the pool, traveling and anything else I want to do. I do a lot of that already so I would love it if I could continue the balance that I have created in my life. My dream however is to be a radio disc jockey along the way! I’ve dabbled on the air at KISN in Portland and I’d love to have my own show one day.

If you could be any color crayon (think box of 64, not just the 8 primary colors), what color would you be and why?

My first reaction is, “can we combine basic red with golden rod?” And I say that because it reminds me of a spark. There is a fire there in those colors – there’s an energy, it is a fiery, force color. I just read somewhere that, ‘growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional’ and that is how I feel. Those colors speak to that for me.