Biography
Mayor Mike Johnston is a Colorado native who started his career as a school teacher in the Mississippi Delta. Shortly after, he came home to Colorado to address educational inequities as a school principal, leading three different schools in the Denver metro area. Additionally, he served as a Senior Advisor to President Obama during his presidential campaign and transition. He was then elected to the Colorado State Senate serving two terms representing Northeast Denver, where he worked to get bipartisan support to pass Colorado’s version of the DREAM Act. He went on to serve as the CEO of Gary Community Ventures, a local philanthropic organization, where he built broad, diverse coalitions to pass the first successful effort to fund affordable housing and homelessness statewide, and create the Dearfield Fund, an award winning organization committed to closing the Black wealth gap through access to homeownership. As Mayor, he is committed to transforming Denver into America’s best city by delivering a city that is vibrant, affordable, and safe for everyone.