SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento County's Department of Health and Human Services administration office, located in South Sacramento, will officially be dedicated to Grantland L. Johnson during a ceremony on Monday, June 8, 2015, and renamed in his honor:
Grantland L. Johnson Center for Health & Human Services
Johnson, who passed away in 2014, was the only local individual elected to municipal and county offices, and appointed to serve at the state and federal levels. He was elected to the Sacramento City Council in 1983 and made history as the first and only African American to serve on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors from 1987 - 1993. President Bill Clinton also saw in Johnson a distinctive ability to affect change on the larger public policy stage appointing him as Regional Director of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 1993. Johnson was selected by Governor Gray Davis as Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency in 1999 where he served as the Governor's chief adviser on health and social service issues, and fought for access to affordable health care, senior services and employment benefits.
"This building dedication is a fitting tribute to a humble and dedicated public servant, one I was proud to call a dear friend," said County Supervisor and Chair Phil Serna. "He was one of the most influential leaders to ever serve our community."
WHAT:
Dedication of the Grantland L. Johnson Center for Health and Human Services
WHEN:
Monday, June 8, 2015
1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE:
7001 – A East Parkway
Sacramento, CA 95823
WHO:
Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, community leaders, friends and family of Grantland L. Johnson.
SPEAKERS:
- Phil Serna, Chair, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
- Supervisor Don Nottoli, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
- Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
- Darrell Steinberg, former California Senate President Pro Tem
- Emory M. Lee, former Executive Officer for the Office of the Secretary,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX
- Sharon Fujii, retired Regional Administrator, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX
- Sherri Z. Heller, Ed.D., Director, Department of Health and Human Services
- Patrice Bolton-Johnson, daughter of Grantland Johnson
- Dr. Lee Turner Johnson, widow of Grantland Johnson
