Jillian Johnson
Jillian Johnson is an American politician and non-profit administrator. Since 2015, she has served on the Durham City Council, and is the first LGBTQ member to be elected to the council. From 2017 to 2021, she served as the Mayor Pro-Tempore of Durham, North Carolina. Early life and education Johnson grew up in Virginia and attended the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond. In 1999, she moved to Durham, North Carolina to attend Duke University. She graduated in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in public policy and a minor in women's studies. Career Johnson is a member of the Democratic Party. She was elected to the Durham City Council in 2015, focusing her campaign on racial, economic, and environmental justice, police accountability, and equitable development. Upon her election to office, she became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the city council and, at the time of her swearing in, was the youngest member of the council. In 2017, she was chosen, by unanimous vote from the council, to serve as Mayor Pro Tempore of Durham until 2021. She was re-elected to her second term on the council in 2019. Johnson was