Mayor Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson was elected as the 55th Mayor of the City of Sacramento in November 2008 and re-elected to a second term in June 2012. He is the first native Sacramentan, and the first African American to be elected to the office. His top priorities include improving public safety, creating jobs and economic development, reforming public education, promoting good government and enhancing the quality of life for all Sacramentans. The Mayor has taken on a range of national leadership positions, including his current roles as Second Vice President of the US Conference of Mayors, Vice President of the National Conference of Black Mayors, and Chair of US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Education Reform Task Force. Before taking public office, he led a diverse career as a professional athlete, entrepreneur and nonprofit executive. He served as Chief Executive Officer of St. HOPE (Helping Others Pursue Excellence), a nonprofit organization he founded in 1989 and led until January 2008. Originally focused around providing afterschool programs to at-risk youth in Mayor Johnson’s native Oak Park neighborhood, St. HOPE expanded to pursue a broader program of urban revitalization through public education, civic leadership, economic development, and the arts. Today St. HOPE consists of three divisions: St. HOPE Academy, St. HOPE Development Company, and St. HOPE Public Schools.

Mayor Johnson received the Legacy Award at the 20th Annual Charter Schools Conference. The Legacy Awards were created to celebrate those outstanding charter school supporters, funders, operators and elected officials who have been stewards of the movement over the last 20 years. Each Legacy Award winner represents the hope and dedication of two generations of California Charter School students.