Alumni of the Year - Dr. Karen Johnson-Brennan

Dr. Mary-Ann van Dam, Dr. Karen Johnson-Brennan, and Dr. Leslie E. Wong at the 60th Anniversary of San Francisco State University School of Nursing on November 2, 2015.

Dr. Karen Johnson-Brennan, or lovingly called KJB, was awarded the Spirit of Nursing Award for emulating the requisites of nursing: knowledge, compassion and courage.

Dr. KJB graduated with her BSN degree from SF State School of Nursing in 1967 and went to work at Stanford Medical Center in a medical-surgical unit.  She decided to go back to school to pursue her MSN degree at UCSF (1971) while working at the Intensive Care Unit at CPMC. She worked at CPMC for many years and became the head nurse. In 1978, she returned to SF State School of Nursing to  teach clinical med-surg nursing full time while pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Education (1984) at USF. She has held every position in SF State School of Nursing, including Associate Director and Director. She was honored by the University Alumni Association to be on the Hall of Fame. After more than 30 years of teaching, she retired…..for 1 semester. She is now carrying almost a full time load once again. Her favorite classes to teach are pathophysiology and medical-surgical nursing. When asked, “Why did you decide to return to teaching?”, her answer simply, “students.”

Let’s give our beloved Dr. KJB a round of applause and stand ovation for her compassion, contributions, and dedication to our School of Nursing and students. 

Dr. KJB in 1966