Katherine Johnston

Associate

Katherine Johnston is an Associate in the Irvine & San Diego offices. She brings more than a decade in experience in legislative affairs, municipal governance, public finance, and strategic policy to her legal practice. Before joining Aleshire & Wynder, Katherine served as Interim Chief of Staff and Strategic Advisor to San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee, focusing on the City’s budget and financial operations as policy consultant to the Budget and Government Efficiency Committee.

Previously, she also held senior roles at the City of San Diego, including Director of Infrastructure and Budget Policy in the City of San Diego Mayor’s Office, where she oversaw the City’s $3.3 billion annual budget development process, capital improvement planning, and housing and homelessness initiatives.

In addition to her public sector service, Katherine has advised numerous civic and nonprofit organizations on fundraising, grants management, and government relations, and was the first Executive Director of the San Diego Parks Foundation. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Public Library Foundation and has chaired several City of San Diego citizen advisory committees.

Katherine earned her J.D. from California Western School of Law, her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from UC San Diego, and a Master’s in Education from UCLA.