American Benefits Council: About the Council

Deanna Johnson, APR, CEBS

Deanna Johnson is the director, membership, for the American Benefits Council, a trade association based in Washington, D.C. representing primarily Fortune 500 companies that either sponsor or administer health and retirement benefits covering more than 100 million Americans. Deanna focuses on maintaining and improving services for the Council's more than 270 member companies, working with Council staff and the board of directors to develop products and materials to cultivate new membership opportunities. She also plans strategies to enhance the involvement of member companies in legislative advocacy.

Deanna joined the Council staff in 1998 as director, communications, a position she held until 2007. She continues to contribute to the Council's public relations strategy. Before joining the Council, she was a senior editor at the Thompson Publishing Group, supervising the writing and production of four handbooks on pension and fringe benefits issues. Her pension communications background began at the ICMA Retirement Corporation, where she produced 401 and 457 defined contribution plan materials for large public sector accounts, managed the company's advertising program, and assisted the vice president of corporate communications and public relations with special projects. She also served as the public relations department for The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, and as a features reporter and copy editor for several daily and weekly newspapers.

Deanna holds a bachelor's degree in news/editorial journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned her master of science in human resource management from Boston University. In 2002, Deanna was accredited in public relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America. She became a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and a Fellow of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists in 2004.