Newly elected CEO to host inauguration week

Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and her staff are set to host multiple events in January as she prepares to take the leadership helm as the sixth Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DeKalb County.

The line up of events to usher in her installation as DeKalb’s next leader will kick off Jan. 8 – with some familiar faces in attendance. Starting at 6 p.m. at Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center in Decatur, Cochran-Johnson will be joined by four former county CEOs: Liane Levetan, Vernon Jones, Burrell Ellis, and Michael Thurmond for “A Conversation on DeKalb: Past, Present and Future.” The conversation is set to be moderated by Cochran-Johnson and is free and open to the public to attend.

Next, Cochran-Johnson and her executive cabinet will be heading to Callanwolde Fine Arts Center on Jan. 9 in Atlanta at 6 p.m. for a meet and greet event. While that event is now sold out, more conversations and meet and greets will be scheduled soon, according to officials.

Then on Jan. 10, starting at 5 p.m., Cochran-Johnson will take her Oath of Office and be sworn-in as DeKalb’s CEO at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University in Atlanta. Judge Mark A. Scott will serve as Master of Ceremony while Judge Penny Brown-Reynolds will be the Oath Officiant.

The newly sworn-in CEO will then head to Fernbank Museum on Jan. 11 for an inaugural gala with a cocktail hour scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. and the rest of the event running until 9 p.m. Sponsorship opportunities for the event are available at https://lcjohnsoninauguration.com/events/.

Cochran-Johnson will wrap up the inaugural week of events in Stonecrest with a special Day of Prayer event on Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. for DeKalb County employees, administration and the community at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

“Inaugural week will begin a new phase of vision and leadership poised to achieve new heights for DeKalb’s more than 763,000 residents,” said event co-chairs. “Together, we can expand upon existing efforts to lay the foundation required to ensure DeKalb residents have the best possible quality of life – through solid leadership and good government.”

For more information and tickets to events, visit lcjohnsoninauguration.com.