Lynne Johnson ’62

Arts and music thrive in Honolulu today, thanks to the contributions of Lynne Johnson ’62. She is currently the board chair of the Honolulu Museum of Art, but served as the unpaid executive director of the museum during merger discussions between the Honolulu Academy of Art and The Contemporary Museum. The joining of the two museums created a financially strong museum for Hawai‘i.

“The arts inspire. They give us creativity, they give us discipline,” said Johnson as she accepted her award.

“Lynne’s unheralded commitment to the museum founded by her great-grandmother in 1927, proved that the family cultural genes endure into a new generation,” said Judy Dawson ’57 and J. Douglas Kilpatrick III ’57, who nominated Johnson for the award.

Music is her other passion. Johnson earned a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Hawai‘i – Manoa in 2009 and now teaches music history.

As board chair of the Honolulu Symphony Society, Johnson guided the society through a very difficult period of financial challenge, but managed to keep the Society afloat, musicians paid and the music going.

Johnson was a recipient of the YWCA’s Leader Award in 1997 and was recognized as Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 1998.