| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Full Name: Otis Samuel Johnson
Bio from The City of Savannah
Mayor Johnson is a Savannah native who graduated from A.E. Beach High School in 1960, Armstrong State Junior College in 1964 (as the first African-American to graduate from that school) and the University of Georgia in 1967. He served from 1959-1965 in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Then in 1969 he earned a Masters of Social Work from Clark Atlanta University and, in 1980, he received his Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
Before becoming mayor, Johnson worked for the Economic Opportunity Authority, Model Cities Program, and Savannah State University.
From 1983 until 1988, he served as the City Council Representative of the second district of Savannah. He then became the Executive Director of the Chatham Savannah Youth Futures Authority. In 1999, he began a four year term on the Savannah Chatham Board of Education. After being elected to serve as Savannah’s 64th mayor, Johnson took the office in January, 2004 and will serve a four year term.