John M. Johnson assumed management and staffing responsibilities for the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in 1990 while serving as a Staff Director with the Council of State Governments.

With a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kentucky, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Georgetown College, in 1996, Johnson led NASBLA’s evolution from an affiliate-level organization at the Council of State Governments to a self-governing, independent, national non-profit association.

In 2005, Mr. Johnson was named NASBLA Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

In 2010, Johnson earned his credentials as a Certified Association Executive through the American Society of Association Executives and the following year was named the recipient of the William B. Garner National Leadership Award. In 2012, Johnson was selected as an inductee into the National Safe Boating Council’s Boating Safety Hall of Fame and in 2019 he was selected to serve on the National Boating Safety Advisory Council. In 2021, he was appointed to serve on the newly reorganized National Boating Safety Advisory Committee. Johnson is an ex officio member of the NASBLA Executive Board and has also served on the board of directors for organizations including the National Safe Boating Council, the National Water Safety Congress and the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University in Kentucky.

Mr. Johnson is a lifelong boater who grew up fishing, skiing and canoeing on the Kentucky River in Mercer County, Kentucky.