Melissa Johnson, President & CEO

Melissa Johnson, Assoc. DBIA, is the founder and president of Melissa Johnson Associates. She is one of the most experienced and sought-after engagement practitioners in the greater New York area. She has worked on numerous design and construction projects throughout her career, including roadway, bridge, athletic field, freight, streetscape, land use, disaster relief, resiliency, transit, environmental, historic preservation, and economic development initiatives for government agencies.

Her experience is far-reaching and includes consulting work for the New York City Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation, New York City Economic Development Corporation, New Jersey Transit, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Transit, New York City Hall, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Design and Construction, New York City Planning, New York Governor’s Office, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and New York State Empire State Development.

Melissa is experienced in and skilled at designing and executing communication strategies that guide the public-facing side of initiatives to create more sustainable communities in the New York area. Her work has been commended publicly by the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island NYCDOT borough commissioners, and the offices of numerous public officials. Melissa was an innovator in the city’s earliest disaster relief and resiliency projects beginning in 2012 following Hurricane Sandy.

Melissa’s hands-on approach to managing Melissa Johnson Associates is rooted in her continuous involvement with the company’s projects. On a daily basis, she works to facilitate communication with stakeholders on behalf of our clients. She guides the company’s consulting engagements by sharing her experience-based knowledge with MJA’s staff, developing innovative engagement strategies, and implementing new technologies to engage audiences. Melissa’s work has been published in PE Quarterly and Young PE Quarterly. In 2020, Melissa was selected as one of Engineering News-Record New York’s Top Young Professionals.

Melissa is a graduate of Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, and the Sigmund Weis School of Business in London. She is a member of Professional Women in Construction (PWC), the PWC New York chapter, Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) International, the WTS Greater New York Chapter, Design-Build Institute of America, Society for Marketing Professional Services, American Society of Highway Engineers, Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the New Jersey Chapter of the PRSA.