Candy Johnson, former senior advisor to Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, on Jan. 5 succeeded Warren E. Logan Jr. as head of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga.
Logan last month retired as president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit civil rights and social services organization, a post he had held since 1995.
Prior to joining the city of Chattanooga in 2019, Johnson worked as an independent consultant offering services in diversity and inclusion initiatives, organizational and resource development, educational equity and public policy.
She served as the policy director for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce before relocating to Chattanooga in July 2017, along with her husband, Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson.
Before embarking on her career in policy, Johnson served as executive director of a nonprofit organization, the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Foundation.
A native of Clarksville, Tenn., she was the youngest member ever elected to public office for the Clarksville City Council, at 25 years old.
Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in public management from Austin Peay State University and a Master of Public Administration from Murray State University. She is also a graduate of Leadership Clarksville, Leadership Middle Tennessee and the Complete Tennessee Leadership Institute.
She is an adjunct professor in the University of Tennessee system.
The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga is an affiliate of the National Urban League, the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering underserved individuals to enter the economic and social mainstream.
The Chattanooga branch serves more than 14,000 individuals each year through a variety of support services focused on education, entrepreneurship, workforce development, economic empowerment, and health and wellness.