Luci Baines Johnson, Founder, LBJ Family Wealth Advisors, Ltd, is a highly regarded philanthropist, community, and business leader whose lifelong commitment to nursing has advanced the profession.

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Ms. Johnson first pursued nursing as a student at Georgetown University during her years in the White House. Due to societal pressures that came with being part of the nation’s First Family and cultural restraints as a married woman, she was unable to complete her studies or actively practice. Despite this, she carried forward a lifelong dedication to elevating nursing and ensuring it remains central to national health priorities.

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A tireless advocate, she has testified before Congress on multiple occasions to champion funding for nursing education and research, helping protect vital resources and elevate the voice of nurses to influence national health policy. Notably, Ms. Johnson provided compelling testimony during the Reagan Administration that contributed to the preservation of funding for the National Center for Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health (now known as the National Institute for Nursing Research). Ms. Johnson also provided remarks at the 30th Anniversary of Medicare in 1995 championing its passage as a moment of triumph in the United States’ history.

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As an Honorary Chair of Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow, a coalition of 43 nursing and health care organizations, she championed broad public awareness of the nursing shortage. Her leadership has extended into service on hospital boards, including MD Anderson Cancer Center, As one of the first public members of the National League for Nursing’s Accreditation Board, she has truly helped to share the preparation of future nurses through her advocacy. Her philanthropy has endowed nearly 100 scholarships, graduate fellowships, professorships, and faculty fellowships,  with a particular focus in gerontological nursing, at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Georgetown University. In addition, the Luci Baines Johnson and Ian J. Turpin Center for Gerontological Nursing was established at the UT Austin School of Nursing in 2022 in honor of her and husband’s generous support of those providing care for aging populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Johnson’s $1 million gift to UT Austin provided immediate aid for students, faculty, and outreach clinics serving vulnerable older adults. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Turpin’s donation was made in honor of their mothers and the nurses who cared for them in their final years. As the baby boomer generation ages, individuals aged 65 and above remain the fastest growing age group. Ms. Johnson has shown her uncompromising support to the nurses who care for this population time and time again through her generous philanthropic support of the profession.

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Throughout her lifetime, Ms. Johnson has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Georgetown University’s School of Nursing & Health Studies. At the time, over fifty years after her attendance at the school, she offered nursing students the following advice in her commencement address – “dream, serve, and live a purpose-driven life.”

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Her visionary leadership, deep compassion, and unwavering support have left a lasting legacy—building a stronger nursing workforce, advancing nursing science, and ensuring that the voices of nurses remain vital in shaping health policy.