Meet the Staff

Kara Johnston 
Director, Institutional Advancement
303-256-9682

Kara Johnston joined Johnson & Wales University in January 2009. Her career includes almost 14 years in alumni and development programs, including seven years as Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving for Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Ore., and three years as the Alumni Coordinator for the University of Colorado Foundation at the CU School of Medicine. Prior to working in higher education, Kara spent three years at the Grand Hyatt Denver in various front-line and back-of-the-house positions.

Kara is a native Coloradan and grew up in Wheat Ridge, a suburb of Denver. She received a BA degree in History from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She is an avid volunteer with PTA and an organization that provides summer camps for foster children. Kara and her husband, Andrew, have three children — Alec, Molly and Elizabeth — and reside in Arvada.