Education
University of Wisconsin–Madison.
University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Born in Tomah, Wisconsin to Marilyn and Walter Johannsen, Kristin had one sister, Karen (now Karen Johannsen-Talsky). Johannsen earned her bachelor"s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978, traveled throughout Europe and returned to Madison to earn a master"s degree in English nearly a decade later. She published three books, as well as numerous travel articles, magazine articles and internationally used textbooks.