Harry Johns

Harry Johns is the President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, the global leader in Alzheimer's advocacy, research and support.

Since his arrival at the Association in 2005, thanks to the mobilization and important work of millions in communities across America as well as a dedicated staff, the Association has changed the public discussion about Alzheimer's, raising the epidemic and its devastating human and economic consequences to significant new levels of recognition and support.

The Alzheimer’s Association has achieved public policy advances including the passage of the National Alzheimer's Project Act and the creation of the National Alzheimer's Plan as required by the Act. Through those and other public policy approaches, critically-needed increases in federal research funding have begun. The Association's direct leadership in Alzheimer’s research now includes annually convening the world’s largest gathering of Alzheimer's researchers, multiple ground-breaking international collaborations and successful direct investments in cutting-edge, field-changing research which have helped to advance Alzheimer's science to new levels of insight and opportunity.

According to Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science, the Alzheimer's Association is a global leader in Alzheimer's research, ranked only behind the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Chinese government in terms of impact. Philanthropedia called the Association the most influential nonprofit for aging issues in its most recent ranking of the field. And, since The Nonprofit Times first began evaluating nonprofit employers in 2010, the Alzheimer's Association has been consistently ranked one of its Best Nonprofits to Work For, including rankings of 1st or 2nd among large non-profits four years in a row.

Harry was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2011 to serve as a member of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services. He also serves as CEO of the Alzheimer's Impact Movement and on the Executive Committee of Research!America. Prior to joining the Alzheimer's Association, he was one of the four members of the executive team of the American Cancer Society. Harry is a graduate of Eckerd College and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business.