Paula Johnson, M.A., R.P.A.

Senior Archaeologist, Lab Director, and Director-at-large

M.A., Museology (Archaeology focus), University of Washington, 1997
B.A., Anthropology, University of Washington, 1992

Paula has over 27 years of archaeological experience across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and California.

Prior to joining WillametteCRA, she owned a private CRM company for 14 years and directed the cultural resources group at a multidisciplinary environmental consulting firm for seven years. Paula has contributed to permitting and construction of many of the largest infrastructure projects in the Puget Sound, including transportation, wastewater, and utility projects.

Paula has overseen numerous on-call agreements with federal, state, and local agencies. She has prepared complex agreement documents and contributed to multiple NEPA and SEPA EISs. She is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and exceeds the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Standards for Archaeology.

Paula specializes in archaeological curation and has expertise in Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance and the 36 CFR Part 79 federal archaeological curation standards.

Paula has assisted with the display of ancient artifacts from Israel, China, and Africa. She co-authored the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Archaeological Curation Policy.

Paula formerly served as the Assistant Archaeology Collections Manager at the Burke Museum. She is one of the founding organizers of the Washington Curation Summit, a group focused on archaeological curation issues.