Harrison Newton

Harrison Newton

Harrison Newton

Deputy Director, Center for Community Resilience


Harrison Newton most recently served as the first Deputy Chief Resilience Officer in the nation's Capital, co-leading a cross-sector, city-wide effort that culminated in the city’s first Resilience Strategy. 

In that role, he coordinated 5 resilience-focused research teams, spanning the city's health, housing, economy, technology and emergency management agencies, assessing risks and identifying opportunities for new transformative initiatives. Newton also led a broad visioning effort to identify priorities with leading philanthropies, businesses, non-profits and other stakeholders.   

Prior to this role, he served as the Associate Director of the Energy Division within the Department of Energy and Environment, where he led an effort to modernize community programs and develop strategic priorities to help thousands of DC residents control their energy costs.

He also served in DOEE as the Chief of the agency's Environmental Health Branch. He and his team created the city’s award-winning “Partnership for Healthy Homes,” which improves the condition of hundreds of DC residents’ homes every year by linking healthcare providers, legal support organizations and social service networks to innovative approaches in hazard remediation.

Earlier in his career, Newton served as Director of Environmental Health Programs at the Public Health Management Corporation. There, he implemented a suite of environmental health programs in multiple cities along the East Coast, focusing on protecting children with disabilities and other at-risk populations.

As the leader of a coalition of non-profits in Washington D.C., he also played a leadership role in the development and passage of several District laws governing lead poisoning prevention and housing conditions and worked on projects increasing the capacity of healthcare clinics to respond to disasters.