In 1979, when the rest of the world still relied on typewriters and carbon copies, Darleen Johns anticipated the changes that technology would bring to the workplace and swam against the tide. Her story of success as a visionary, pioneer, and entrepreneur in the male-dominated field of information technology began as Ms. Johns founded and grew Alphanumeric Systems, Inc., a Raleigh-based provider of high-tech business solutions.

Individual Awards

Ms. Johns’ role in the growth and success of Alphanumeric has garnered her widely sought accolades, including:

• North Carolina Technology Entrepreneur of the Year; sponsored by Ernst & Young and USA Today
• Business and Professional Woman of the Year; sponsored by the YWCA Academy of Women
• Outstanding Woman in Business; sponsored by the Triangle Business Journal
• Businesswoman of the Year; sponsored by North Carolina Business magazine
• Distinguished Woman of North Carolina Award for Business; sponsored by the Governor and North Carolina Council for Women
• Inclusion in the Working Woman 500; sponsored by Working Woman magazine
• Induction into the Business Hall of Fame; sponsored by Triangle Business Journal
• Recognition as the Girl Scout Woman of Today; sponsored by the Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council
• Selection as 2002 "Woman Extraordinaire;" sponsored by Business Leader magazine

Public Sector Involvement

Ms. Johns’ accomplishments, however, do not end in the business arena. An ardent supporter of civic responsibility, she has spent her career committed to the idea that to ensure the prosperity of our communities and state, we must give back to them – and her many years of appointments to civic and business boards and committees have not dulled this belief. Of particular note have been Ms. Johns’ appointment to the Governor’s Education First Task Force, the Lieutenant Governor’s Technology Advisory Council, the North Carolina Economic Development Board, the North Carolina Efficiency and Loophole Closing Commission, the North Carolina Legislative Joint Select Committee on Information Technology, and the Historically Underutilized Business Advisory Council. She is also an active member of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and is a former president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Community Involvement

Ms. Johns sits on the Boards and Executive Committees of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry (NCCBI) and the North Carolina Technologies Association (NCTA). She is also on the boards of Hospice of Wake County, Rex Healthcare, and the Capital City Club. In the community, she has been heavily involved with Pines of Carolina Girls Scouts, United Way, 4-H, the Women’s Club, and was on the Board of Directors of the 1999 Special Olympics World Games, where Alphanumeric provided technology resources.

Philosophy

More than mere titular appointments, Ms. Johns’ board and commission memberships reflect her personal commitment to substantively affect the lives of the citizens of North Carolina. She has actively brought her considerable skills and experience to bear to address high priority state issues, including ensuring that North Carolina’s prosperity is widely shared, that workers are highly trained and paid commensurately, and that high performance and entrepreneurial companies are attracted and retained. She has also worked to guarantee that growth and development are environmentally sound, and that an accountable economic development mechanism is put in place to evaluate taxpayer-funded development activities. As a former-state-worker-turned-entrepreneur, Ms. Johns understands the realities facing nontraditional groups in the workplace and recognizes both the benefits and risks posed by the dynamic nature of the high-tech arena. This is the background she relies on in her efforts to better the citizens of the state, regardless of their geographic location, socio-economic level, or possible minority status.

Ms. Johns has also worked extensively with North Carolina’s public school and community college systems, and acts as a tireless advocate to ensure that students in both rural and urban North Carolina are able to capitalize fully on the benefits technology can offer. She understands the challenges involved in “connecting” North Carolina’s citizens in the digital age, and knows the benefits of succeeding at this formidable and necessary task – these are the issues to which she devotes her time and efforts.