At the tender age of 4, a light bulb went on over Johanna's head. Literally. Although born in New York, she moved with her family when she was three to a tiny Mexican town where milk was still delivered on donkeys. The only blond in town, she really stood out on the Cinco de Mayo parade float she rode, patting out tortillas. One night, on a bare plywood stage lit by naked light bulbs, she did the twist for her kindergarten recital in front of a gaggle of adoring parents. And even if a star was not born, the glow of that little bare bulb never left her. When she was five she moved to Mexico City, and attended the American School from which she eventually graduated. Apparently, that got the travel bug going, and she was very fortunate to trot around the world, visiting most of Western (and some of eastern) Europe, a good chunk of South America, Africa, India/Nepal, Mexico, the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada.

Johanna received her B.A. in English and American Literature from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, (with a semester abroad in England) and returned to Mexico where she began a short-lived career as a copywriter in advertising. Her work brought her to New York where, after four years of "bigger, better, and improved", she headed the call of that bulb from the past: acting. In the ensuing years her writing was put on hold until several years after her move to California. In the aftermath of a divorce, she was introduced to the Argentine Tango, an event that would prove to be a turning point in her life. The floodgates were thrust open and Johanna began writing again, completing several articles, a couple of plays, a handful of short stories, and, of course, The Tao of Tango.

Johanna has been dancing the Tango since 1995, performing in the U.S. and abroad, and has been a private coach and practice partner for several years. More recently she has developed a workshop based on The Tao of Tango, which has met with great enthusiasm.

Besides writing, Johanna also directs plays, enjoys hiking in the hills around her home in Los Feliz, California, and has a fetish for felines - a trait her darling beloved tolerates bravely.