Elaine Johannes
Associate Professor
Extension Specialist
Contact Information
318 Justin Hall
(785) 532-7720
ejohanne@k-state.edu
Education
- Ph.D. in Life Span Human Development, Kansas State University (2003)
- M.S. in Adult and Community Counseling, Kansas State University (1982)
- B.S. in Psychology, Kansas State University (1979)
Areas of Specialization
- Community health systems and services
- Health literacy
- Rural health and resilience
- Adolescent health
- Preventative health program development
- Grant development and management
Courses Taught
- Well-being in the Rural US (University Honors Program course)
- Grant Development and Management
- Program Administration and Management
Professional Biography
Elaine Johannes is the Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Professor in Community Health for K-State Research and Extension and is a state Extension Specialist.
She has extensive experience in working with communities to address health disparities, unequal access to health care, and the social drivers and conditions that impact people’s health and well-being. Since 2011, she has been awarded over $2million in competitive grants and contracts as the lead principal investigator and over $5million as a principal investigator. Johannes’ Extension programming and applied scholarship build the capacity for resilience and well-being among youth, families, networks, and communities.
Elaine is a member of the Kansas Maternal and Child Health Council executive committee for the Bureau of Family Health in the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, is an executive committee member for the Kansas Suicide Prevention Coalition, and serves on the Kansas Interagency Committee, led by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, on Youth Suicide Prevention. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Samuel J. Crumbine Medal from the Kansas Public Health Association, selected by the National Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Board of Health and Human Sciences for the National Outstanding Engagement Award, and received the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA USDA), Cooperative Extension and APLU North Central Region Excellence in Extension Award. Between 20015-2018, Johannes was tapped to serve on the National ECOP/APLU (Extension Committee on Planning) Healthy People Initiative - Positive Youth Development Action team.
Extending her community engagement, Johannes is President of the Kansas Community Health Worker Coalition (KCHWC). She teaches in the Kansas Community Health Worker certification course, facilitates applied placement experiences for K-State MPH students and supervises graduate students in practicums. Each semester, Johannes teaches the Grant Development and Management course where learners can earn college credit or a microcredential badge. In 2022, the grant course was taught to Rwandan fellows through a US State Department program with the University of Nebraska.