WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Howard University announced today that the Honorable Marie C. Johns, former member of the Howard University Board of Trustees, has been appointed the 2025–2026 Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair in Public Policy. Johns, currently a Trustee Emeritus, previously served on the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2024.
Created in 2008 by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Colbert I. King and former Social Security Commissioner Gwendolyn S. King, both Howard alumni, the Endowed Chair provides students with access to senior public service executives who have developed and advanced public policy initiatives during their government service. The program has featured lectures and seminars on voting, leadership, civil rights, economic affairs, and global diplomacy, among other public policy topics.
“We have known Marie Johns for more than 30 years and have long admired her dedication and service to the public, and particularly to the business community,” Gwen and Colby King said. “She will offer students a treasure of knowledge on the importance of civic leadership in the creation of the public policies to benefit all our citizens.”
Howard University Interim President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, President Emeritus, and Charles Drew Professor of Surgery, praised Johns’ appointment: “The King Chair represents Howard’s commitment to preparing the next generation of leaders to shape public policy with vision and integrity. Marie Johns’ experiences in private industry and in public arenas make her most suitable to carry forward Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King’s vision for this series. She has demonstrated throughout her career a dedication to expanding opportunities, strengthening communities, and driving inclusive growth. Our students will benefit immensely from her wisdom, experience and leadership.”
Previous King Chairs include the late U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Elaine R. Jones, political strategist Donna Brazile, and most recently, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor and current MSNBC co-host of The Weeknight Michael Steele.
Johns is CEO of PPC-Leftwich, a minority/woman-led firm with deep roots in Washington, DC. She focuses on management consulting, business development, organizational effectiveness, and public policy consulting. She has been a leader in business, civic, and government service for more than 30 years. Her experience includes holding senior positions in the telecommunications industry, including retiring as president of Verizon Washington. In that position, she was responsible for more than 1,800 employees and nearly 800,000 customers. Under her leadership, the company developed and implemented a regulatory plan that served as a model for the corporation.
In 2009, she was nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 2010 to 2013. During her tenure, she oversaw record lending of more than $30 billion to over 60,000 small businesses, chaired the President’s Interagency Task Force on Veterans’ Small Business Development, created the SBA’s Council on Underserved Communities, and launched Start Young, an SBA/U.S. Department of Labor initiative providing entrepreneurial training to Job Corps students. Johns is also the founding chair of the Washington, D.C. Technology Council and has served as a board member, president, or chair of numerous organizations including the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Federal City Council, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission. She is also a member of the Greater Washington Business Hall of Fame and one of Washingtonian magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women.
Johns is a founding chair of the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science Board, chaired the HU School of Divinity Board of Visitors, and served as interim chair of the College of Dentistry Board of Visitors. She is a 2013 recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Howard University and holds two degrees—a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Administration—from Indiana University.
Reflecting on her appointment, Johns said: “It is an honor to be entrusted with the legacy of the King Endowed Chair, which I am deeply committed to advancing. I look forward to engaging with Howard students, challenging them to think boldly about solutions to today’s most pressing policy issues, and equipping them with the tools to lead with courage, truth, and service.”
The series, titled Marie Johns Presents The King Endowed Chair on Policy & Leadership: Elevating Voices, Shaping Policy, Building Communities, will begin on September 19, at Howard University with the 2025-2026 opening conversation featuring US Senator Angela Alsobrook with a focus on “Setting the Frame for Elevating our Voices.”
About Howard University
Howard University, established in 1867, is a leading private research university based in Washington, D.C. Howard’s 14 schools and colleges offer 140 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs and lead the nation in producing African Americans with professional doctoral degrees. Howard is the top-ranked historically Black college or university according to Forbes and LinkedIn, the only HBCU with an R1 research institution designation, and the only HBCU ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 National Universities. Renowned for its esteemed faculty, high achieving students, and commitment to excellence, leadership, truth and service, Howard produces distinguished alumni across all sectors, which have included the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice and the first woman U.S. vice president; a Nobel Prize laureate; Schwarzman, Marshall, Rhodes and Truman Scholars; prestigious fellows; and over 170 Fulbright recipients. Learn more at www.howard.edu.
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Carol WIlkerson Howard University 202-288-7071 carol.wilkerson@howard.edu
