Johnson named executive director of marketing and communication

Charleston Southern University has promoted Jenna Johnson to Executive Director of Marketing and Communication. She served as Associate Director of Marketing and Communication at CSU since 2017.

“After conducting an exhaustive search, Johnson rose to the top as our new CSU Marketing and Communication executive director. Johnson’s past accomplishments and vision for marketing and communication at CSU are compelling and exciting for the future. I’m looking forward to seeing the transformation of our marketing and communication under Johnson’s leadership and working closely with her to expand CSU’s footprint in South Carolina and beyond,” said Dr. Tony Turner, vice president for enrollment and marketing.

As associate director, Johnson led efforts to redesign the university website during the university’s branding refresh project in 2019. She also implemented the CSU website’s online chat program as well as leading media relations, crisis communication and all aspects of digital marketing for the university.

“It is an honor to lead the charge for a team I’ve worked with for nearly five years,” Johnson said. “I am humbled and truly grateful for this opportunity to serve and apply what I have both experienced as the former associate director and learned as a Charleston Southern MBA graduate. CSU is a distinctively Christian university—one with endless stories yet to be told. I have a vision for where we can go from here to ultimately share with prospective and current Bucs the value of a CSU education. God is doing big things on this campus, and I’m honored to be a part of that grand story.”

Prior to joining the Charleston Southern family, Johnson was marketing and development director for Origin SC for five years and led the nonprofit’s rebranding which included a name change and modifying all branding and marketing materials.

She has also worked in community relations, public relations and marketing in Atlanta.

Johnson’s extensive volunteer work includes cofounding the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Lowcountry, serving on the Tri-County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, the DeKalb Community Service Board, the CRDA’s One Region Communication Committee, and numerous roles at Crowfield Baptist Church.

Her many volunteer hours with these organizations and others has earned her recognition from Charleston Business Magazine’s Best & Brightest Under 35 in 2021, Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Healthcare Heroes – University Pandemic Task Force in 2021, Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 in 2019, and the Post & Courier’s 20 to Know in North Charleston in 2016.

Johnson holds a master of business administration from the Nielsen College of Business at CSU and a BA in political science and journalism writing from Clemson University, where she was associate editor for The Tiger newspaper. She earned a certificate in organizational leadership from NeighborWorks America in 2016 and was a media relations intern for a U.S. Congressional campaign.Johnson and her husband, Josh, have two children and live in Hanahan.

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