Prepares to oversee $4.8 Billion Budget and 6,600 Employees, as Inaugural Steering Committee announces Meet and Greet; Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast; Gala and Countywide Day of Prayer.
Stonecrest, GA – Insight Consulting Groups alongside the DeKalb County CEO Inaugural Steering Committee is proud to announce the Oath of Office ceremony of Lorraine Cochran-Johnson as the first female Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DeKalb County Georgia on January 10, 2025. She is the first African American woman elected CEO of DeKalb County Georgia and the 6th CEO to serve in the official capacity.
Cochran-Johnson is the former Super District 7 Commissioner of DeKalb County. She was first elected in 2018 when she defeated an incumbent in a runoff with 67.4% of the vote and was successfully elected to a second term in 2022, after facing two challengers and receiving 77.5% of the vote in the Primary Election. She became CEO-Elect on July 18, 2024 after carrying 174 out of 191 precincts and receiving 60% of the popular vote in a runoff. A democrat, Cochran-Johnson faced no republican opposition and received 320,050 votes in the General Election.
As a DeKalb County Commissioner, Cochran-Johnson authored groundbreaking legislation and raised the bar in service delivery. She is the author of the Video Surveillance System Ordinance that requires mandatory video cameras at all gas and service stations to keep DeKalb residents safe. She wrote the Small Box Store Ordinance that stopped the proliferation of dollar stores across DeKalb that now serves as model legislation in nine states, garnering national features in the New York Times and on CBS Sunday Morning. As Chair of Public Works and Infrastructure, Cochran-Johnson has saved taxpayers $92 million using mandatory contract audit and oversaw the allocation or more than $1.4 billion in infrastructure investments – representing the highest dollar amount dispersed by a sitting Commissioner in the history of DeKalb County. She is the 2023 Elected Official of the Year by the American Public Works Association and the 2023 Georgia ACT Housing Champion for her workshop series to promote affordable housing. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joseph R. Biden in August 2024.
DeKalb County is home to 763,000 residents. It is the fourth largest county is Georgia with a $4.8 billion operational budget and twelve cities – Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, Stonecrest, and Tucker.
DeKalb is home to the most diverse square mile in America in Clarkston and Stonecrest Georgia has the highest concentration of African American wealth in the U.S., second only to Prince Georges County, Maryland. DeKalb has some of the most progressive cities in Georgia, with Brookhaven recently being named the best city in Georgia.
Formal CEO Transition Week activities of Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will take place January 8 – 12, 2025. The inaugural week activities provide an opportunity for the historic transfer of power, as Cochran-Johnson becomes the 6th CEO and first African American female to lead DeKalb County. To attend transition activities pre-registration is required at www.lcjohnsoninauguration.com.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8TH
Kick-Off of CEO’s Lecture Series Topic: “A Conversation on DeKalb: Past, Present, and Future”
Porter Sandford III Performing Arts Center
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9TH
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Cabinet Meet Greet Callanwolde Fine Arts Center
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10TH
Oath of Office Emory University Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11TH
Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast Emory University Silverbell Ballroom
Inaugural Gala Fernbank Museum
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12TH
Prayer and Worship County Employees, Municipalities, and Administration New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
Lorraine is a native of Greenville, Alabama and a twenty-five-year resident of DeKalb County. Lorraine attended Troy University where she received a B.S. degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice; a M.S. in The Administration of Criminal Justice and received an M.P.A. in Public Administration with a concentration in Economic Development and Grant Writing from Auburn University before attending John Marshall Law School. Lorraine holds a business certificate from Harvard University in Delivering Public Services: Efficiency, Equity and Quality.
For media coverage or to schedule an interview with CEO-Elect Cochran-Johnson, email [email protected] or call Ankia Inman at 404-637-6707.
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