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Bill
Johnson
 In
January 2003, Bill Johnson was appointed by Governor Bob
Riley as Assistant Director of the Alabama Department of
Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), followed in November
2005 with an appointment as Director of the agency. ADECA
manages more than $200 million in federal grant dollars
each year with some 230 employees. The state department
assists communities with economic development projects and
administers a wide variety of federal and state programs
that provide funding to local governments and non-profit
agencies throughout the state.
Johnson
was instrumental in launching the Governor’s Black
Belt Action Commission in 2004, and served as Executive
Director during the Commission’s first two years. He
also launched and coordinates the Governor's prison reenntry
initiative. This initiative, the Community Partnership for
Recovery and Renewal or CPR Network partners with hundreds
of faith and community based organizations to help people
leaving the state prison system break the cycle of recidivism.
Johnson also adopted the Mentor Alabama program which aids
mentoring organizations by providing free background checks
to the organizatiions for people volunteering as mentors.
He
also serves as the Governor’s State Alternate for the
Appalachia Regional Commission and State Alternate for the
Delta Regional Authority and the Southern Growth Policies
Board. In his capacity as ADECA director, he aslo serves
on the Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research program (EPSCoR) board, the board of the Economic
Development Association of Alabama (EDAA) and represents
Governor Riley on the National Governor's Ethanol Coalition.
Johnson
was recognized as "2008 Public Official of the Year"
by Alabama's Habitat for Humanity.
Johnson
has extensive political experience, managing the statewide
grassroots efforts in Riley’s successful bids for Governor
in both 2002 and 2006, and Riley’s successful bid for
US Congress in Alabama’s Third Congressional District
in 1996.
Prior
to working with Riley’s campaign, Johnson worked as
a political consultant specializing in the use of information
technology. He gained experience in community development
issues when elected in 1997 to the Birmingham City Council.
His service on the Birmingham City Council from 1997-2001
drew praise from both Democratic and Republican legislators
and from the business community. He brought a unique lifetime
of experience and dedication to the Council of making a
difference in city government.
Johnson
graduated from John Carroll High School in 1977 and attended
Spring Hill College in Mobile on a full academic scholarship.
He received a B.S. in Chemistry in 1981 from Spring Hill,
graduating cum laude, and was accepted into the University
of Alabama Medical School. Following a brief stay in medical
school, Johnson embarked on travels around the world to
experience for himself the people, cultures and governments
of more than forty countries on five continents. Often on
foot, relying on his wits and what he could fit into a backpack,
he was almost always welcomed into the communities where
he stayed. His travels took him on a 700-mile walk across
the African desert and savanna.
By
the time Johnson fully resumed life back in the states,
where for several years he operated an industrial/commercial
construction company, he had developed a desire to make
a difference through government. His international travels
led him full circle back home to Birmingham, where he committed
himself to political service. His youthful political ideas
have been deepened by age and maturity, but he is just as
politically committed and energized about changing life
for the better as he was in his twenties.
In
addition to his education at Spring Hill College, Johnson
completed an intensive program for senior state and local
government officials at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School
of Government in 2000, is a 2002 graduate of Leadership
Birmingham and a member of Mensa International.
 Bill
is married to the former Kathy Hale of Pueblo, Colorado.
Kathy currently serves as the director of Governor Riley's
statewide broadband initiative and is former director of
Children First Foundation and the Alabama Campaign to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Alabama
and serves on a number of boards, including the Character
Council of Alabama and HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents
of Preschool Youngsters). Kathy was a Governor appointee
for the Second Congressional District on the Alabama Child
Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, and shared her platform
of child
advocacy as a2001 top-10 finalist in Mrs. America and two-time
Mrs. Alabama. As a motivational speaker, Kathy has spoken
to over 75,000 people statewide.
 Bill
and Kathy have three children, Kaleigh, Kaleb and Hayley,
and reside in Prattville, Alabama.
Bill
Johnson is currently running for governor for the State
of Alabama on the Republican ticket. He can be reached at:
334-398-2913
billj@billjohnson.org
You
can sign up or volunteer for the campaign here.
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