Stephanie Johanns (née Armitage) is an American politician and businessperson. She is a former first lady of Nebraska and member of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

. Johanns was a

county commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the County (United States)#County government, county government in some U.S. state, states of ...

for Lancaster County.

Early life and education

Johanns is from Arizona. She graduated from high school in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 53,923 at the 2020 census. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana. It is the most populous city in the Elkhart–Goshen metropolitan area, which in tu ...

and completed a degree in psychology at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1977. She married Mike Armitage. They divorced in 1985 with no children. She married

Mike Johanns Michael Owen Johanns ( ; born June 18, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 2009 to 2015. He served as the 38th governor of Nebraska from 1999 until 2005, and was chair of the Mi ...

on December 24, 1986. She is a Republican and a conservative Catholic.

Career

In 1985, Johanns was a part-time manager of the Greater Lincoln Private Industry Council. She left the post on November 25, 1985 to work as the information center coordinator at Lincoln Telephone Company. In that role, she oversaw three employees supporting the internal computer users. Johanns was a

for Lancaster County. Nebraska governor

Kay A. Orr Kay Avonne Orr (née Stark; January 2, 1939) is an American politician who served as the 36th governor of Nebraska from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, she was the state's first and to date only female governor. Early life and ...

appointed Johanns to the

to fill the vacancy created by Bill Harris when he became the mayor of Lincoln. She served from 1987 to 1988 and did not run for reelection. In 1998, the Girl Scouts presented Johanns the Spirit of Girl Scout Award. Johanns, the wife of

, was the First Lady of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005. Johanns was the honorary chair of the Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission. She was awarded the 2001 leader in communication honor by the Lincoln chapter of the

International Association of Business Communicators The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a non-profit. It is a professional association for communications professionals. It was formed in 1970 when the American Association of Industrial Editors re-merged with the Intern ...

. In 2004, she was the vice president of external affairs for

Alltel Alltel was a landline, wireless service provider, wireless and general Telephone company, telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the United States. Before its wireless division was acquired by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Alltel pr ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. Johanns is a senior vice president at

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanns, Stephanie Women state legislators in Nebraska 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Nebraska Verizon people Alltel People from Lancaster County, Nebraska Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nebraska Republicans Catholics from Nebraska University of Minnesota alumni 20th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature First ladies and gentlemen of Nebraska