Calvin Johnson

Calvin is senior director for disaster recovery with nearly 20 years of federal grant management and municipal budget experience. Previously Calvin worked in New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he oversaw funding for disaster recovery, climate resiliency, and community development. In his role at OMB he likewise helped coordinate New York City’s economic development, capital construction projects, tourism promotion, and workforce development. Between 2013 and 2021, Calvin was the grant lead for over $4 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding that the City of New York received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Sandy.

Calvin’s CDBG-DR expertise runs the gamut from compliance training and technical assistance to environmental review, planning, and operations management. He oversaw critical resilient infrastructure projects as part of HUD’s Rebuild By Design and CDBG – National Disaster Resilience (CDBG-NDR) endeavors, which advanced innovative solutions to address flood vulnerabilities and were so successful that they served as the basis for HUD’s CDBG – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program.

Calvin has collaborated closely with municipal agencies and subgrantees in the following areas of disaster recovery: repair and reconstruction of single-family, multifamily, and public housing; buyouts and acquisitions; job training and workforce development; small business assistance and economic development; infrastructure; public services; match for Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funding, including Public Assistance (PA) and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) streams; planning and land use; and climate resiliency projects.

Calvin has worked with both HUD and CDBG-DR grantees to deliver critical recovery programs in times of need. He has collaborated with state and local grantees to address legislative and policy challenges. Calvin has over five years of experience presenting at HUD’s CDBG-DR Problem Solving Clinics. He is committed to ensuring that grantees have the necessary training and capacity, as well as access to lessons learned and best practices, to be empowered to meet critical recovery goals. He is motivated by enabling those impacted by disasters to participate in their own recovery, in addressing the needs of historically marginalized and vulnerable communities, and in advancing a culture of preparedness for addressing the next disaster.

Calvin originally hails from Austin, Texas, and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. He holds an MPA from Columbia University and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.