 In the 1980s, Johns spearheaded the establishment of the first home in the city for babies born to mothers addicted to crack cocaine.Johns is a former chair of Leadership Washington, the DC Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a director of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Economic Club of Washington, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, and the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation.Johns is the Founding Chair of the Washington DC Technology Council and a member of the senior board of stewards of Washington's historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.