Heather A. Johnston
Board Member

• Email:[email protected]
• Hometown:Minneapolis, MN

Heather A. Johnston joined the firm, Winthrop & Weinstine, on January 10, 2024 as its new Chief Operating Officer. Heather joins Winthrop & Weinstine following decades of operations experience in both the public and private sectors.

Heather Johnston served as the City Manager of the City of Burnsville, Minnesota, a position she held from April 2013-June 2018.  The City Manager is responsible for the implementation of the Council’s policies and management of city services.  Prior to becoming City Manager, she served as Director of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer for the City of Burnsville.  In this capacity, she had responsibility for Communications, City Clerk, Information Technology, Community Services and Finance.  Ms. Johnston served as the Director of Management and Budget for the City of Minneapolis for over seven years.  Ms. Johnston has experience in government and non-profit sectors, including at Minnesota Management & Budget and the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Ms. Johnston served as the President of the Government Finance Officers’ Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) in 2015-16, with prior service on the GFOA Executive Board and as Chair of the GFOA’s Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy.  As GFOA President, Ms. Johnston convened a task force on focused on recruitment and engagement of public finance employees so the finance function can be more integrated in making the work of government effective and innovative.  She has conducted training on a variety of budget topics, including engaging residents in the budget process, outsourcing technology and making performance measurement meaningful.

Ms. Johnston is a graduate of Augsburg College in Minneapolis with a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication, and she received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.