Director, Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity

Clarence A. Johnson, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Director, Diversity Management and Equal Employment Opportunity, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), Washington, D.C. He is responsible for the development and execution of diversity management and equal opportunity policies and programs affecting 1.3 million active duty military personnel, 1 million Reserve Component personnel, and 700,000 civilians within the Department of Defense (DoD). He also provides supervision, direction, and policy guidance of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, which is the premiere DoD school in equal opportunity and equal employment opportunity training, education and research. Mr. Johnson serves as principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness) on diversity management, equal opportunity and equal employment opportunity matters.

Since being appointed as Director in February 2003, Mr. Johnson has served in a variety of special assignments. In January 2009, Mr. Johnson led the effort to establish the Executive Secretariat within the Office of Strategic Planning and Performance Management, which served as the key function for integrating DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs activities.

Mr. Johnson served as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Plans) from May 2009 to February 2010, and from May 2010 to July 2010, while the Department awaited appointment of political leadership to the Office of Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness). In this role, he provided leadership and oversight of all functions within this organization. In October 2010, Mr. Johnson served as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Diversity and Leadership) to assist the Army in implementing a robust diversity strategy. He stood up and served as the Director of the Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and Programs Division until his return in February 2012 to his current position.

Prior to becoming a civil servant, Mr. Johnson was a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. As an active duty colonel, he served as Director, Military Equal Opportunity within in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Equal Opportunity. Mr. Johnson entered active duty service as a C-141 navigator. His tours of duty included the Military Airlift Command Plans staff and Air Staff Training. He was a squadron commander three times and a group commander twice. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (with one Oak Leaf Cluster), the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal (with three oak leaf clusters). Mr. Johnson holds a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Webster University, Missouri, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Tuskegee Institute, Alabama. Mr. Johnson is also a graduate of Air Command and Staff College, the Air War College, the National Security Management Course (National Defense University) and the Georgetown University Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management Certificate Program.

Mr. Johnson and his wife, Gloria, reside in Clinton MD; they have three children and four grandchildren. .

Clarence A. Johnson

Clarence A. Johnson