Martha N. Johnson
Martha N. Johnson (born 1952) is an American human resources executive and government official who served as Administrator of General Services from 2010 to 2012. Johnson resigned on April 2, 2012, following a scathing Inspector General report that revealed a "gross misuse of taxpayer dollars" on an internal conference that was "excessive, wasteful, and in some cases impermissible." Early life and education Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Oberlin College in 1974. She then earned an MBA degree from the Yale School of Organization and Management. Career From 1979 until 1985, Johnson worked as a manager for Cummins Engine Company, first in Columbus, Indiana, and then in Jamestown, New York. She worked from 1985 until 1987 as the CFO for an architecture firm, in 1987 and 1988 as a recruiter for a staffing company, and from 1988 until 1992 as a consultant in a diversity consulting firm. During 1992, she was an executive recruiting consultant with Ben & Jerry's for several months. After working on the Clinton-Gore transition team, Johnson worked in the White House Office's Office of Presidential Personnel until October 1993, and then served as an Associate Deputy Secretary of Commerce from 1993 until 1996. In March 1996, Johnson joined the General Services Administration, working there as a chief of staff from 1996 until January 20, 2001. In November 2001, Johnson became vice president of the Council for Excellence in Government. In January 2003, she left the Council for Excellence in Government to become a director at Touchstone Consulting Group, which was purchased by SRA International in 2005. SRA then employed Johnson from March 2005 until November 2007. In late 2008, Johnson became a co-leader of the Obama transition team evaluating the GSA. Johnson left SRA to become a vice president of culture at Computer Sciences Corporation, a role she held until February 2010. In April 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Johnson to serve as the Administrator of the GSA. On June 8, 2009, Johnson's nomination was reported by United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Johnson's nomination was delayed for months after Missouri Sen. Kit Bond placed a hold on her nomination over concerns he had about why the GSA wasn't closing down the federally owned Bannister Complex outside Kansas City, Missouri and relocating staff to leased space in downtown Kansas City. On January 28, 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on Johnson's nomination. President Obama sharply criticized Bond and Republican senators for blocking Johnson's nomination, and complained that Republicans were blocking nominees for reasons that have nothing to do with their qualifications for their prospective jobs. While at a retreat for Democratic senators, Obama made the comments in response to a question from Sen. Patrick Leahy about his judicial nominations. Obama expanded his answer to include not just blocked judicial nominations but also executive nominations as well: The full U.S. Senate voted 82-16 for cloture on Johnson's nomination on February 4,