Thelma Adams Johnson has served as the President/CEO of Albany Community Together, Inc. (ACT!) since 2002.  Under her leadership, ACT! has provided access to $7.6 million in capital, leveraged $21.4 million in private capital to over 175 businesses, assisted in creating and/or retaining 730 jobs, and provided business development training and technical assistance to over 1200 businesses and continues to increase these matrixes daily. She is a member of the African-American Alliance of CDFIs CEOs, the only organization that leverages African American CDFI CEOs’ decades of expertise, relationships, and intellectual capital to change the odds and the outcomes for African Americans in underserved communities across America. She has presented at conferences all over the nation, sharing her expertise and helping to develop the CDFI ecosystem.

Prior to joining ACT!, Dr. Adams Johnson served as a Regional Resource Coordinator for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, where she provided technical assistance in the area of community and economic development to local governments.  She has served as the City of Albany Economic Development Specialist and is a certified Economic Development Finance Specialist through the National Development Council.  Dr. Adams Johnson has a BS in Accounting from Albany State University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a DBA from Northcentral University.  She is an adjunct professor at Albany State University in the College of Business, Board Chair of Downtown Development Authority for the City of Albany, board member of Dougherty County Family Literacy, and serves on the board of Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN). Dr. Adams Johnson has been named a Southwest Georgia 40 under 40 honoree, as well as one of Georgia’s Small Business Administration Financial Champions of the Year.  She has over 20 years of experience in nonprofit management and economic development.  In 2018, SunTrust Foundation recognized Dr. Adams Johnson with a “Lighting the Way” award, for tireless work and efforts that meet the needs of the community.