Dr. Eric A. Johnson
Contact
Assistant City Manager
Assistant City Manager
Interim Advisor: Katherine Sobel, 512-974-9377
Executive Assistant: Alexia Villarreal, 512-974-7717
Dr. Johnson is an accomplished urban redevelopment leader leveraging over 20 years of experience in business, government, strategy, real estate, economic development, housing, planning, community engagement and public policy to drive organizational success.
Prior to joining the City, Dr. Johnson served as the President/CEO of Aeon in Minneapolis. Aeon is a non-profit affordable housing real estate development company which owns and manages close to 6,000 affordable housing units. Dr. Johnson led Aeon through a period of post pandemic challenges toward a path of sustainability.
With ties to Texas, Dr. Johnson served as Chief of Economic and Neighborhood Revitalization for the City of Dallas where he provided oversight of housing, urban planning and design, permitting, historic preservation, and economic development. Dr. Johnson and his team prepared the City’s new economic development policy, created a $100 million dollar fund to support affordable housing, launched the creation of the City’s comprehensive plan, established the groundwork for the creation of the City’s economic development corporation, and worked diligently to retool the city’s permitting process.
Throughout his career Dr. Johnson has worked on transformative projects and issues in the Northeast, Midwest, South and Southeastern regions of the United States. Moreover, he has managed program budgets in the millions, secured resources for key initiatives, emphasized community based economic development to mirror business retention and attraction strategies, acquired land for key development projects, and built confidence of staff and community organizations to thrive during times of disruption and change to achieve success.
Dr. Johnson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Washburn University, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and a Doctorate in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware. He is an alum of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate, and is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional.