Lauren Johnsen is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, specializing in interpersonal and family communication. Lauren serves as the advisor to the Communication Studies Minor. Lauren began at UW-Stout in Fall 2023. For the 2024-2025 summer/school year Lauren is one of two UW-Stout fellows for the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars program and has been engaging more with SoTL work and conferences.
Lauren completed her Ph.D. in Interpersonal and Family Communication in 2021 from the University of Missouri. During her time at Mizzou, she taught part time for Central Method University (2018-2019) and Moberly Area Community College (2020), as well as serving as the Assistant Basic Course Director (2019-2020) for the Department of Communication. She also worked full time for the University of Memphis-Lambuth Campus from 2020-2023. She completed her M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016, and her B.A. in Communication Studies and Environmental Studies from Iowa State University in 2014.
Outside of school, Lauren is an avid reader (currently indulging in the ACOTAR universe along with most of the internet, cozy murder mysteries, and other thrillers!) and podcast devotee (top of list is Will You Accept This Rose, NPR Politics, and a whole host of tv show rewatch throwbacks!). She also enjoys attending live theater and concert events, festivals, and generally spending time with friends and family!
Lauren's research focuses in the confluences of health, family, and interpersonal communication. She specifically examines the sensemaking processes in contexts such as pregnancy, labor, and delivery; difficult PLD experiences, father's POV, etc. Her dissertation (Men and Maternal Health: How Men Make Sense of Their Experiences with Pregnancy, Labor, and Delivery) was awarded the 2023 Sandra Petronio Dissertation Award from the Family Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Most recently she has had four book chapters published: The Struggle is Real and It’s Hilarious: Examining “Bad” Mothers in Workin’ Moms - in an edited volume about crises and comedy; “Like Putting Out Fires, While Running on a Treadmill That Was Also On Fire”: Working And Parenting in a Pandemic - in an edited volume of COVID-19 case studies; Menstrual Communication Within the Family: Taboo, Secret, Or Do Families Just Avoid It? - in an edited volume of family case studies; and “Be Seen and Not Heard”: Understanding Fathers’ Role in Pregnancy, Labor, and Delivery - in an edited volume about fatherhood communication over the lifespan. Her other work has been published in the Southern Communication Journal, Small Group Communication, The Florida Journal of Communication, and Communication Studies.
