Joel L. Johnson *67 SPIA
Pragmatist, Traveler, Learner
Aerospace Consultant
Joel Johnson graduated from Wesleyan University in 1965 and received a master’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1967. After three years at a nonprofit dealing with international programs in U.S. universities, he began 13 years with the federal government, including the Treasury Department (Office of Trade Policy), the State Department (including two years on the Secretary of State’s policy planning staff) and four years as a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he focused on developing nations economic issues, including the Agency for International Development account. He then spent 16 years as a vice president of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), which represents the prime contractors of the civil and defense aerospace industry as well as most of their significant suppliers. Since retiring from AIA in 2005, he has continued as a consultant for companies and think tanks in industry. During his professional career, Johnson has spent at least 24 hours in 61 countries and believes he learned something in every one of them.