Kim visited the Aldo Leopold Foundation in 2014 and felt privileged to go inside and see the famous Aldo Leopold shack.
Kim W. Johnsen celebrated her 10-year anniversary last September as NLI’s Director of Marketing & Membership. When she started in the fall of 2011 she knew she had a huge learning curve. Her background was in theater and downtown association management. However, she loved the outdoors and was excited about the opportunity to promote the protection and preservation of nature. She jumped right in by learning as much as she could about land conservation and the natural environment by attending guided nature hikes, nature-oriented lectures, and volunteer stewardship days. She went through the University of Illinois’ Master Naturalist program in 2013 and continues volunteering for that program.
Kim’s responsibilities include writing and editing NLI’s newsletters, managing social media accounts and the website, as well as promoting membership. She plans several events per year which includes organizing the event, sponsorship procurement, advertising, public relations, media communications, volunteer recruitment and coordinating registrations. Kim works with the Education and Marketing & Membership committees and the members to present several programs throughout the year and works with Resource Development Committee. She said, “a few of my favorite achievements are shaping Family Nature Adventures into a unique experience for families and making it Bilingual in English and Spanish; being the managing editor of the poetry and prose anthology that NLI published in 2018; and overseeing 50 video projects for NLI in the past few years – and yes, that’s a lot of videos. 28 are from the last 2 years of the virtual Family Nature Adventures.” She went on to say, “Every day I learn something new in my job and it is extremely rewarding.”
Community involvement is important to Kim. She is currently serving on the City of Rockford Zoning Board of Appeals and Liquor and Tobacco Advisory Board. Kim serves on the advisory board of EarthShare Illinois, is a member of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Council, and is on the board of her condo association. She has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Rockford since 2012 and has been a volunteer for many other community and arts organizations in the past thirty years.
Kim has been married to Curt Johnsen for 13 years. They enjoy cooking, gardening and exploring urban and rural areas together.