Dr. Phyllis (Lanes) Johnson, a 1967 Grand Forks Central graduate, served as director the United States Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Area (Washington D.C.) Agricultural Research Service.  from 1996 to 2008. For her work at Beltsville, the USDA's largest and most comprehensive research facility, in 1999, she received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive during President Bill Clinton's administration, an award given to the top five percent of senior executives across the Federal Government.

A 1967 Presidential School and a 1998 Sioux Award recipient, Johnson holds Bachelor's and PhD degrees from the University of North Dakota, where she was vice president for Research and Economic Development from 2009 until her retirement in 2014. She is currently a visiting professor at Concordia College Moorhead, Minnesota, where she teaches nutrition, biochemistry, public administration and the science of global hunger.