Marie C. Johns

Marie C. Johns is Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), where she is responsible for management of the agency and development of SBA programs and policies. Johns was nominated by President Obama on December 17, 2009, and confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate on June 22, 2010.

Under the Deputy Administrator’s leadership, SBA had a record year in 2011, supporting more than $30 billion in lending to more than 60,000 small businesses across the country. That is the most capital going to small businesses in the history of the SBA. As the economic recovery takes root, Deputy Administrator Johns is focused on ensuring that entrepreneurs in underserved communities have the resources, relationships, and tools they need to start businesses and create good-paying jobs. She also works closely with President Obama’s most senior advisors at the White House to ensure that more federal contracts are awarded to small businesses. In addition to other duties, the Deputy Administrator has the privilege of serving as the chair of the President’s Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development.

Prior to joining the SBA, Johns held senior positions in the telecommunications industry, including serving as President of Verizon Washington. In that role, she was responsible for nearly 2,000 employees and more than 800,000 customers, including many small business owners. And she’s an entrepreneur herself. After retiring from Verizon, Ms. Johns started L&L Consulting, LLC, an organizational effectiveness and public policy consulting practice.

Deputy Administrator Johns is very active in her local community, and has made mentoring the next generation of business leaders a cornerstone of her career. Among other honors, she was inducted into the Greater Washington Business Hall of Fame in 2004, named one of the “100 Most Powerful Women” by Washingtonian Magazine, and most recently, was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as a Minority Business Leader.

Johns earned her BS and MPA degrees from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Trinity University in Washington, DC.