Philip W. Johnston

Philip W. Johnston
Official portrait, circa 1983
Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts
In office
1984–1991
GovernorMichael Dukakis
Preceded byManuel C. Carballo
Succeeded byDavid Forsberg
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 4th Plymouth District
In office
1979–1984
Preceded byPaul F. X. Moriarty
Succeeded byFrank Hynes
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 10th Plymouth District
In office
1975–1979
Preceded byCarl Ohlson
Succeeded byMichael C. Creedon
Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party
In office
2000–2007
Preceded byJoan Menard
Succeeded byJohn E. Walsh
Personal details
Born (1944-07-21) July 21, 1944 (age 80)
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceMarshfield, Massachusetts
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
Harvard University
OccupationBusinessman, politician

Philip W. Johnston (July 21, 1944 in Chelsea, Massachusetts[1]) is an American businessman, politician and former Secretary of Human Services in Massachusetts and Regional Administrator of Health and Human Services for New England.

Johnston received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Arts degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In 1996, Johnston founded and is president of Johnston Associates, a communications and public affairs consulting firm. He is Chair of the Board of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. He also sits on the Boards of the University of Massachusetts, the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center, the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute, the Roosevelt Institute, and Stop Handgun Violence.

He was elected to the state legislature five times.[2] From 1984 to 1991, he was Secretary of Human Services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Michael Dukakis. He was also executive director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in Washington, D.C. In 1992, he was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton as the New England Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he served until 1996. Johnston was twice elected chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, in 2000 and 2004.[3]

  1. ^ 1983–1984 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  2. ^ "Johnston Associates". Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  3. ^ Boston Globe, November 11, 2004, cited at highbeam.com