Bob Johannessen

For more than 35 years, Bob Johannessen has been a PR practitioner, leader, mentor, and public servant in Louisiana. Johannessen has earned countless awards from PRAL, SPRF, IABC, AAF, PRSA, and others. He has been honored with PRAL’s First Circle and Practitioner of the Year Awards. He is strategic, humble, kind, intelligent, and witty.

If you look at what Johannessen has done for his employers, he is honorable: Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) PostKatrina– Johannessen handled the difficult communications related to the field hospital, medical evacuations, temporary morgue, deaths, and family reunifications. He was the first to report that the leading risk factor for death was the age of the victim. This led to new plans and processes for seniors during subsequent natural disasters that have saved countless lives.

LDH Medicaid Expansion– Johannessen led the effort for Medicaid Expansion in 2016 and introduced the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Both programs surpassed all enrollment goals and expanded access to healthcare to hundreds of thousands.

eQHealth Expansion– Johannessen led the team that secured more than $20 million in contracts: $12 million in Florida, $8 million in Mississippi, and $1.5 million Federal.

His volunteer service is commendable: Johannessen’s contributions to Baton Rouge Soccer Club, LSU, and BREC have changed the Baton Rouge community by building coalitions and communications on PR Advisory Councils, Boards, and Commissions for more than 20 years. Johannessen has served on the LSU Manship School Hall of Fame Committee for 15+ years and was recently selected to serve on the Alumni Board as President.

But, it is his contributions to the profession that are truly stellar: A member of PRAL since 1984, he has spent more than fifteen years on the Board in every position. For more than 10 years, Johannessen served as the Ethics Chair for PRSA-BR and is a model and mentor to everyone in our community about what is the *right* thing to do in any situation. He has served for more than 20 years on the PRSA Board.

Johannessen created the concept for and executed a collaborative agreement between the two organizations in Baton Rouge that have traditionally served the same PR professionals. Both organizations held monthly meetings, conducted workshops, and worked with faculty and students at local universities. Johannessen had the vision to formally merge the two in a way that 1) eliminated duplication of meetings while 2) preserving the unique identities, and 3) meeting the strict standards for local chapters set by the national PRSA Board. PRSA national is touting this merger as a way for smaller market PRSA chapters to remain viable.