Recognizing PSOW’s founder for Women’s History Month

Dorothea Johnson, who founded The Protocol School of Washington in 1988, is one of the world’s most respected experts on business etiquette and protocol. With a career that includes counseling clients in the business, government, education, and entertainment fields, Johnson has been an expert resource on protocol and etiquette who has been quoted in more than 60 books as well as hundreds of columns and articles in major publications in the United States and abroad. Johnson has also authored/coauthored six books including her most recent, Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top, which she co-wrote with her granddaughter, actor/producer Liv Tyler. The book has been translated and published in Russia, Poland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, and Taiwan.

The Protocol School of Washington was the first educational entity in the nation to recognize the emerging need for professionally trained etiquette and protocol instructors. Johnson had the foresight to conduct extensive research that revealed the need for “soft skills” training for relatively seasoned executives as well as young professionals who were ascending in their careers.

At the same time, Johnson was aware that success in the international arena would require exemplary cultural and social skills as cornerstones for conducting business in a global economy. Armed with more than three decades of firsthand experience teaching etiquette and protocol along with a distinct entrepreneurial vision, Johnson and her staff shaped the growth of protocol training and became a thought leader in the field.

Today, thanks to Johnson’s pioneering efforts, The Protocol School of Washington sets the standard by which others in the industry are measured. From our initial programming launch in 1988, the school has become the educational model for providing protocol, business etiquette, and communication skills training throughout the world.