Lori Johnson

As the department’s Advising Coordinator, Lori guides undergraduate students as they work toward completion of their respective major/minor. She assists students in declaring majors and minors, selecting and enrolling in classes, developing plans of study, reviewing advisement reports as well as working with other offices on campus to aid in student success and retention. Lori has earned the UNI Advisor Development Certificate and is a trained Out and Ally Safe Zone member as well as a Mental Health Ally. She is also an active member of UNI’s Advising Network of professional advisors.

Lori’s passion and academic interests lie in relational communication. She continues to study, learn about, and be intrigued by how human relationships work and the role our own communication and others' communication (both verbally and nonverbally) play in the development, maintenance, and deterioration of relationships. She enjoys studying and teaching about this topic in the contexts of friendship, romantic, family, and work relationships. She also loves teaching students how to become better writers and speakers. These two skills, she believes, are essential in all aspects of our life, not just in one's future career.

In the community, Lori conducts communication trainings and workshops for companies and organizations. She specializes in teaching professional communication skills (listening, workplace communication, and public speaking), improving workplace and other types of organizational relationships, and teaching conflict management. She is active in the community and has served on several boards as well as volunteered for many local organizations. She currently serves on the WB Small Trust Board of Directors, Waterloo Community Foundation board and the Waterloo Schools Foundation board.