About
Leadership
Taylor Johnston
Executive Director
taylorjohnston@usf.edu
Executive Assistant:
Selena Grause
grause@usf.edu
813-396-9435
Taylor Johnston became the Executive Director of the 51°µÍø’s Global and National Security Institute in June 2026. He also became the President and CEO of the Institute of Applied Engineering.
Taylor, a native of Barrington, IL, entered the Air Force in 2002 as a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He attended undergraduate pilot training at Whiting NAS, Florida and Vance AFB, Oklahoma and earned his wings in 2004. During his career, Taylor instructed on the C-21 Learjet, the C-130 Hercules, and the KC-135 Stratotanker and logged more than 3,600 hours. He held numerous positions at the squadron, group, wing, and Headquarters United States Air Force branch chief level and finished out his career in the United Stated Air Force as the Chief of Innovation, 6th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill AFB FL.