Former Executive Director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney Transition Team, Clay Johnson III, will lecture at SMCM on Monday, Nov. 24, at 4 p.m.
ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. (Nov. 17, 2008) — The St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) Department of Political Science and the Center for the Study of Democracy will sponsor “The Challenges of a Presidential Transition” on Monday, Nov. 24, at 4 p.m. in Daugherty Palmer Commons. The lecture, presented by Clay Johnson III, will focus on the challenges of implementing a presidential transition from one administration to the next, as well as successfully converting the presidential candidate’s vision into concrete policy once in office. Johnson is the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget and was the executive director for the 2000 Bush-Cheney transition team.
As the deputy director for management, Johnson provides government-wide leadership to Executive Branch agencies to improve agency and program performance. Previously, Johnson was the assistant to the president for presidential personnel, which identifies and recruits approximately 4,000 senior officials, middle management personnel, and part-time board and commission members.
From 1995 to 2000, Johnson worked with Gov. George W. Bush in Austin, first as his appointments director, then as his chief of staff, and finally as the executive director of the Bush-Cheney transition team.
Johnson has been the chief operating officer for the Dallas Museum of Art and the president of the Horchow and Neiman Marcus Mail Order companies. He has also worked for Citicorp, Wilson Sporting Goods and Frito Lay.
Johnson received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. In Austin, he helped create the Texas State History Museum and served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Graduate School of Business. In Dallas, Johnson served as president of the board of trustees for St. Marks School of Texas, and as a board member of Equitable Bankshares, Goodwill Industries of Dallas, and the Dallas Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization.
The Center for the Study of Democracy is a joint initiative of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and its affiliated institution, Historic St. Mary’s City. It explores contemporary and historical issues associated with democracy and liberty in national and international contexts. The center provides a forum for presentations by government officials, journalists and scholars; publishes scholarly writing on subjects of civil governance; encourages and supports public participation in political processes; and engages undergraduate studies in study and research on related subjects.