Staff and Board

R. Jayson Johnston
Executive Director
478.521.6000
706.457.4891
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Jayson Johnston joined the Development Authority of Washington County in September 2017. Jayson is charged with both the ongoing daily management of Washington County’s economic development efforts and the Authority’s strategic undertakings for enhanced development. He works closely with members of the Development Authority, the Washington County Board of Commissioners, the cities of Sandersville and Tennille, and the other communities within the county to ensure that Washington County is poised for growth by soliciting new business and industrial development and by encouraging and undergirding the expansion of existing business and industry.

Jayson was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia and is a graduate of the University of Georgia, with post-graduate work at Wake Forest University in their Business Essentials Program.   He spent the first 15 years of his career in the Charlotte, NC area where his focus was large-scale festival and special event production, community development, promotion and marketing.  Jayson was with Charlotte Center City Partners, Charlotte’s Downtown Development entity, during Charlotte’s major boom in development and growth.  Jayson returned to Georgia in 2012 to serve as the President and CEO of the Harris County Chamber of Commerce.  In 2014 he was named as one of Georgia Trend’s Top 40 Under 40 in Business in the State of Georgia.