Dr. Anna Johnson is Director of Animal Welfare for the National Pork Board.  She develops and implements checkoff-funded animal welfare and welfare-related programs and administers the Science & Technology Department’s animal welfare research.  This includes developing educational material for pork producers and veterinarians and providing technical advice on animal welfare and welfare-related issues.  Dr. Johnson participates in long-range planning with regard to animal welfare and related programs.  She provides information as requested by staff or outside groups.

Prior to joining the National Pork Board in January 2002, Dr. Johnson earned her doctorate degree in animal welfare from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.  Her research focused on behavior and how this impacts performance, and welfare of the lactating sow and her litter in both a traditional indoor environment and an alternative outdoor, pasture-based system. 

Before going to Texas Tech, Anna attended the University of Reading in England and earned a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and a master’s degree in Applied Animal Behavior and Animal Welfare from the Scottish Agricultural School, at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Johnson is active in the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) and the American Society for Animal Scientists (ASAS).

Originally from Sudbury Suffolk, England, Dr. Johnson now lives in West Des Moines, Iowa.