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Ventura, CA – The Board of Supervisors has unanimously selected Dr. Sevet Johnson to serve as Interim County Executive Officer effective March 23, 2022. As part of this role, the Interim County Executive Officer will also be the Ex-Officio Clerk of the Board. The Board also unanimously agreed to conduct a nationwide recruitment for the permanent County Executive Officer. “Our Board would like to thank Dr. Johnson for stepping up during this time,” said Chair of the Board Carmen Ramirez. “We are confident in her ability to help lead as we begin a search for the next County Executive Officer.”
“Thank you for this opportunity and vote of confidence. I look forward to working with your Board to supporting all functions of the County and to working with all stakeholders during this time as we look for our new CEO,” said Dr. Sevet Johnson.
Dr. Sevet Johnson, Chief Deputy Director of the Health Care Agency, joined the County in 2009. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, and the appointed Director for the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department which oversees the County Mental Health Plan serving approximately 18,000 clients per year through outpatient services. Diversity and Equity are passions of hers and she has continually partnered with advocates and stakeholder groups to ensure underserved populations are reached. She is passionate about serving unserved and underserved populations and ensuring that the voice of the consumer is heard and valued.
Dr. Johnson is the Co-Chair for the Cultural Competency, Equity and Social Justice Committee for the California Behavioral Health Directors’ Association and is active on several other committees. She has been given the opportunity to speak at several venues regarding the work being done in Ventura County as well as to promote suicide awareness and provide education on the many different faces of mental health as they present in communities of color. She is a lead for the County of Ventura Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and has led and facilitated several panels and dialogue sessions about race and relations.
She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Boston Majoring in English with a Minor in Africana Studies in 2001. She continued and earned a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology in 2004 and then went on to earn a terminal master’s degree in Psychology in 2007 and a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Multicultural Community Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant University and holds a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Yale University.
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