John S. Johnson has a lifelong love of travel, adventure, photography, and, most of all, the people and cultures he encounters along the way. His travels have taken him around the world, but Africa holds a particularly special place in his heart.

Over the past decade, John has traveled to Africa a dozen times, exploring the continent from Egypt along the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. Many of those journeys have been connected with humanitarian work through Change Your Stars Foundation. In rural Kenya, John has been involved in education, water collection and well preservation, Days for Girls projects, and the building and continuing support of a high school in a community that previously had none—expanding educational opportunities for hundreds of young people. His work alongside local educators, families, and students has given him an experience of Africa that goes far beyond traditional tourism.

Africa has also provided some of John’s greatest adventures, including trekking in Uganda to see mountain gorillas in the wild—an experience he considers one of the most extraordinary of his life.

Beyond Africa, John has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas, often combining his love of travel with humanitarian service. Yet for all the remarkable places he has seen, John believes the most memorable part of travel is the people—the friendships formed with fellow travelers and the opportunity to experience the cultures and everyday lives of people around the world.

John is also a veteran Morris Murdock traveler participating in six escorted tours. Having personally traveled the South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana itinerary in 2026, he is delighted to return as a tour host in 2027 and looks forward to sharing the extraordinary experiences—and friendships—that make travel so rewarding.