Sacramento native Kevin Johnson was elected as the 55th mayor of the City of Sacramento in November 2008. He is the first native Sacramentan, and the first African American to be elected to the office. His vision is for Sacramento to become “a city that works for everyone.”

In the first year of his administration, Mayor Johnson embarked on an ambitious plan to reshape how city government serves the citizens of Sacramento. To improve public safety, Mayor Johnson increased the number of police on the streets, and held a Gang Summit to listen to the concerns and needs of gang members. To spur economic development, Mayor Johnson helped secure over $500 million in federal stimulus dollars for the region, and jumpstarted economic development in our downtown corridor. Mayor Johnson played a central role in pushing critical school reforms through the state legislature, and convened multiple education summits with the nation’s top education reform leaders. Within City Hall, the Mayor established new standards for accessibility and accountability by holding community office hours and town hall meetings, and securing an external audit of city finances. Mayor Johnson also launched initiatives to reduce homelessness, increase volunteerism, and promote the arts.

Before his election to public office, Kevin led a diverse career as a professional athlete, entrepreneur and nonprofit executive. In May of 2000, Kevin retired from the NBA after 12 seasons with the Phoenix Suns. He returned to his hometown of Sacramento, California to serve as the CEO of St. HOPE, a nonprofit community development corporation he founded in 1989 designed to revitalize inner-city communities through public education, economic development, civic leadership and arts enrichment.

Mayor Johnson served on the Board of Directors for LISC National, the CA Charter School Association, the UC Berkeley Foundation, the Institute of Governmental Studies National Advisory Council and the Harvard Divinity School SLI Advisory Board. His concern and compassion for children and education prompted President George Bush to honor Johnson with the 411th Point of Light. In addition, Johnson was selected as one of the “15 Greatest Men on Earth” by McCall’s Magazine and has received the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, the Good Morning America Award from Sports Illustrated, the “Most Caring American” award by the Caring Institute, and induction into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho, and the Pac-10 Hall of Fame.

Johnson is a regular contributor on several national television programs, including CNN Newsroom, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline NBC, Larry King Live, The Colbert Report, Fox Business Network, and Tom Brokaw’s “American Character.”