Staff

Tim Johnson is founding Executive Director of Family Connection-Communities In Schools of Athens.
His more than 45 years of experience in the nonprofit sector began when, as a college student in the 1970s,
Tim co-founded and led a student organization that successfully lobbied for reform of Georgia landlord-tenant
law, and he wrote legislation establishing a state solar energy tax credit and then successfully lobbied for its
passage.
He has served on more than twenty nonprofit boards and a variety of federal, state, and local government
advisory committees. His consulting clients have included the Carter Presidential Center, the U.S.-Korea
People’s Friendship Association, the Southern Regional Council, the Georgia Environmental Policy Institute,
the U.S. Department of Energy, and many others.
As executive director of Community Connection, a nonprofit information & referral (I&R) service, he
brought the 2-1-1 telephone service to fourteen Northeast Georgia counties centered in Athens. It was the fifth
location in the United States to have this service, through which anyone can dial 2-1-1 to find out where to
obtain needed services and support, as well as volunteer opportunities; he also played a role in persuading the
Federal Communications Commission to reserve this number for I&R nationwide. He also helped initiate the
Nancy Travis Child Care Project (child care services for children who are homeless), special child care
initiatives for children with disabilities, expanded support for low income working families, and numerous
other programs.
In 1991, he became the founding executive director of the Athens Family Connection Partnership, a
collaboration of more than 100 organizational partners working in partnership with families to improve the
lives of children and families. Among the partners are the Clarke County School District, Public Health,
Advantage Behavioral Health, Family & Children Services, both hospitals, Department of Labor, Chamber of
Commerce, several schools and colleges at the University of Georgia, Police Department, Sheriff, Mayor and
Commission, individual businesses, faith community, civic organizations, dozens of private nonprofits, and
others. It is designated by the state and local governments as the official planning and coordinating body for
policies for children and families in Athens-Clarke County. The emphasis of Family Connection is
collaborative, results-based accountability – “doing collective impact years before Stanford scientists came up
with that term,” in the words of a New York consultant.
In 2002, the organization affiliated with CIS to become Family Connection-Communities In Schools of
Athens. In partnership with the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, its team of Neighborhood Leaders
serve each of 16 Prosperity Zones covering all of Athens-Clarke County.
Under his leadership, the organization has received the “Fammie Award” as the leader in family
involvement among more than 150 community partnerships. It is one of 13 community collaborations in the
United States that was recognized by then-Vice President Al Gore and the National Partnership for
Reinventing Government as models for success for children, selected as a “BOOST4Kids” partner to help the
federal government improve outcomes for children nationwide; the Vice President’s aide called it “the model
for the nation.” It was the designated lead entity for the Athens-Clarke County Community of Promise
partnership with America’s Promise, initiated by Colin Powell. Its initiatives include the Classic City
Performance Learning Center (nontraditional high school), Even Start (family literacy program), Early Head
Start, Pathways to Success, Rites of Passage, Right Track, AT&T Graduation Project, and more than thirty
other programs and initiatives. It also pulled together the University of Georgia, the Athens-Clarke County
Unified Government, the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Clarke County School District to join it
in convening Partners for a Prosperous Athens (now OneAthens), an initiative to mitigate poverty in the
community. In fall of 2010, Family Connection-Communities In Schools of Athens was selected by the
Department of Education as a Promise Neighborhood planning site, one of only 21 in the nation. In 2015, it
was one of 18 recipients of an AT&T Foundation Aspire grant, which it utilized to implement the CIS site
coordinator model in the three local high schools. In 2019, it was part of a Challenge grant with CIS of
Georgia to support implementation of the site coordinator model in two highly challenged elementary schools.
Among other recognition Tim has received are: designation as a “Community Hero” Olympic Flame
Torchbearer for the Olympics; serving as a delegate at the bipartisan Presidents’ Summit on America’s Future
in Philadelphia; receipt of the Athens-Clarke County Key to the City; receipt of the Athens Lifetime
Community Service Award from the Junior League of Athens; receipt of the Martin Luther King Jr. Award
from the Athens Human Relations Council; “Super Citizen” designation by the Athens Banner Herald; and a
2012 Big Voice for Georgia’s Children award. He has been profiled in two national nonprofit magazine cover
stories, and several others have featured the work of his organizations.
Tim resides in Athens with his wife, Robin Johnson. He is the father of three adult sons.