Johanna Smith

Johanna Smith serves as Professor of Theatre Education, Improvisation, Puppetry and Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino's Randall W. Lewis School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation since 2018, where she bridges performing arts with entrepreneurial pedagogy.

Her foundational training includes:

• Graduate of The Second City sketch comedy writing program (Los Angeles)

Research focuses on improvisation as an entrepreneurial mindset catalyst, puppetry-based teaching methodologies, and Theatre for Young Audiences direction. She actively develops international partnerships while championing creative reuse and laughter as learning catalysts, with practice spanning Broadway productions, museums, and preschools.

Her publications reveal consistent integration of puppetry and improvisation into entrepreneurship frameworks, notably the 2019 work on holistic arts education and the 2006 strategic analysis of arts entrepreneurship sustainability.

No scientific awards were documented in source materials.

Secured competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Theatre Communications Group (TCG) support her applied research. While formal advisees aren't listed, mentorship occurs through global projects and professional networks.

Leads the Puppetry in Education and Therapy (PIET) committee for Puppeteers of America and contributes to the Applied Improv Network, driving international collaborations like her featured appearance with Wayne Brady on Hulu's 'Family Remix' (Episode 7).