About Veena // human behind the signal

STRATEGY WITH A PULSE.CREATIVITY WITH PURPOSE.

I’m Veena Johnson, a communications strategist, multimedia creator, and original music maker shaped by years behind soundboards, inside classrooms, across campuses, and alongside communities whose stories deserve to be heard.

Currently: Engagement Specialist in Alumni Engagement at UW-Whitewater, connecting alumni and the university through strategic communication, signature events, digital engagement, and volunteer partnerships.
Strategic CommunicationDigital MediaBrand + WebMusic + Sound
Veena Johnson in a red-lit creative portrait wearing headphones
Photograph by Evan Ferguson
Creative frequencyCommunications × Media × Sound
Veena Media // Madison, Wisconsin
The Throughline

One creative life.
Many ways to connect.

My path began in the audiovisual world, where I learned to listen before I led. Fourteen years later, that same instinct guides everything I create: understand the room, find the signal, and build something people can feel.

Long before my work carried titles like communications strategist or engagement specialist, I was learning in venues and behind mixing consoles. I spent eight years running Veena Productions, engineering live sound, solving problems in real time, and discovering that the best creative work begins with attention, trust, and respect for the audience.

That foundation carried me to UW-Whitewater, where I earned a B.A. in Communication, summa cum laude, and an M.S. in Communication. At Roberta’s Art Gallery, I learned to lead teams, build partnerships, and turn exhibitions into experiences. Today, I serve as an Engagement Specialist in Alumni Engagement at UW-Whitewater, creating communications, events, and digital experiences that help Warhawks stay connected to one another and to the university.

Along the way, I have built campaigns, managed social media, written press releases, produced videos, spoken with students, designed brands and websites, published research, and composed original music and film scores. Veena Media is where those chapters meet. It is both my professional studio and my creative home, a place where strategy, image, language, and sound work together.

I’m drawn to projects with a real human pulse, especially work that asks for both structure and imagination. I can shape the message, build the system, create the content, and help the final experience feel cohesive.

Education

M.S. Communication

UW-Whitewater, with emphasis in social media, health communication, and strategic communication.

Foundation

B.A. Communication

Summa cum laude, grounded in research, audience insight, writing, and public communication.

Recognition

Best Original Score

Wisconsin 48 Hour Film Project, music created under pressure and built to serve the story.

What I Bring

Fluent across disciplines.

A hybrid skill set lets me see the whole communication ecosystem, not only the copy, image, platform, event, or soundtrack in isolation.

01 // MESSAGE

Communications & Strategy

Campaign planning, public relations, writing, email, crisis communication, advocacy, and audience engagement.

02 // STORY

Digital Media

Video, social content, photography, content systems, digital campaigns, and multimedia storytelling.

03 // EXPERIENCE

Brand & Web

Identity, websites, visual systems, branded assets, UX thinking, and clear digital journeys.

04 // EMOTION

Music & Sound

Original releases, film scoring, live performance, production, and sound-led creative direction.

Selected Signals

Experience with range.

From live venues and gallery walls to classrooms and alumni events, each chapter has expanded the way I listen, lead, and create.

Current Role

UW-Whitewater Alumni Engagement

Strategic communication, signature events, email marketing, volunteer engagement, project coordination, and digital storytelling.

Live Sound

Veena Productions

Eight years of company leadership, live sound engineering, client service, production logistics, and calm problem-solving under pressure.

Leadership

Roberta’s Art Gallery

Gallery operations, 5-7 student employees, 30+ partners, programming, public relations, and audience growth.

Previous Role

Lussier Community Education Center

Communications, donor stewardship, website management, newsletters, social media, and community-centered storytelling.

Speaking

Three Classroom Presentations

Harlem High School, Upward Bound, and UW-Whitewater’s Content Creators & Influencers class.

Original Work

Music, Film Scores & Veena Media

Original releases and sound-driven creative work that bring strategy and emotion into the same frame.

Have a story that deserves a stronger signal?

Let’s make it clear, memorable, and unmistakably yours.

Get in Touch →