John Allen Newman is a Senior Advisor specializing in community engagement and special projects for Perennial Strategy Group (PSG). In this role, he visions, identifies, and strategizes growth and content development for the firm, and leads PSG’s initiatives devoted to enhancing opportunities for meaningful engagement with local, national, and global communities and organizations.

 

A respected influencer and innovative problem-solver, Newman’s sincere and diplomatic disposition allows him to foster and maintain relationships on both sides of the aisle. Drawing on over 40 years of dynamic leadership experience in the arenas of business, politics, and advocacy, Dr. Newman leverages partnerships with community stakeholders, policy makers, regional and national thought leaders, and philanthropic influencers to build effective and sustainable alliances and advance initiatives for Perennial Strategy Group and its clients.

 

Dr. Newman has devoted his life and career to helping people and organizations realize their full potential, and ensuring that they are treated fairly. As a political activist while still a student in college, he advocated for migrant workers’ protection. From 1984 through 1988, he served in Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.’s presidential campaigns as chairman of the Northeast Florida region. Additionally, Dr. Newman was the initiator and organizer of the campaign for Nat Glover, the first African American sheriff in the State of Florida since Reconstruction. More recently, he served in leadership roles in the election of the first African American Mayor of the City of Jacksonville, The Honorable Alvin Brown.

 

Dr. Newman has enjoyed special invites to attend functions and meetings at the White House from Democratic- and Republican-led administrations. In recent years, he was active in the Obama 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and during President Obama’s administration, attended meetings with White House senior staff and cabinet officials, and briefings with the president.

 

In 2013, Dr. Newman was appointed by the City of Jacksonville to the city’s Core Team of the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of JP Morgan Chase, The Brookings Institution, and selected metro areas to develop and implement regional trade and investment strategies to boost global trade and investment, forge partnerships between U.S. and international metropolitan areas, and advocate for state and national policy changes. Dr. Newman, together with city officials and key stakeholders, developed a comprehensive international trade and commerce strategy for the City of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida to help small- and medium-sized businesses increase their export footprint and bolster a global presence.

 

Currently, Dr. Newman is active with the campaign, Fix the Debt: Citizens for a Responsible Federal Budget, where he participates in a nonpartisan fashion with thought leaders of all political affiliations to resolve national debt and put America on a better fiscal and economic path. He has participated in high level sessions and discussions with national business and political leaders including former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directors in recent administrations.

 

Dr. Newman is a graduate of Eastern Baptist College and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife reside in Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington, D.C. He sits on several boards and committees, and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary in Jacksonville.