County Leadership Team

Leslie Johnson serves as Deputy County Manager for Mecklenburg County, NC, focusing on a Sustainable Community – enhancing and protecting quality of life for all through balanced growth, inclusive economic development, access to upward mobility career pathways, historic preservation, arts, cultural and recreational opportunities, and environmental stewardship. As a member of the Executive Team, she shares responsibility for overall County executive administration. Her portfolio includes over 1,650 employees and accounts for $334 million in the County’s annual adopted budget.

Leslie provides executive oversight to the Land Use and Environmental Services Agency, which includes Code Enforcement, Air Quality, Solid Waste & Recycling, Water & Land Resources, and Geospatial Information Services (GIS); Park & Recreation; Economic Development; and the Historic Landmarks department. She is the executive liaison to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Arts & Science Council, Centralina Regional Council and University City Partners. In her role, Leslie also is responsible for leading Mecklenburg County’s Environmental Leadership, Community Development Block Grant and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) efforts.

Leslie joined Mecklenburg County in 2001 as the Planning & Evaluation Director. In this role, she was responsible for developing and overseeing the County’s award-winning Managing for Results performance management system and its Community & Corporate scorecard. She also began leading the County’s community collaborative efforts on literacy and self-sufficiency. In 2011, Leslie was promoted to Associate General Manager to formalize her community collaborative responsibilities. Leslie also co-led the organization’s business planning initiative and managed the day-to-day operations of the County Manager’s Office. In 2014, Leslie was promoted to Assistant County Manager.

Her professional expertise includes program design, performance management and evaluation; policy development; problem-solving; organizational improvement; applied research; and facilitating workshops. Leslie has a Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in Housing Policy & Research, Master of Urban & Regional Planning with a multi-focus on Planning & Management Methods and Community Development & Physical Planning, and Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech.

In further service to the community, Leslie also serves on the boards for Center for Digital Equity, TreesCharlotte, UNCC - Childress Klein Center for Real Estate, and UNCC - Gerald G. Fox Master of Public Administration.