Our Team

Johnny Green (popularly known as “Johnny Scrabble” to generations of Scrabble-playing Philadelphians) was born and raised in South Philadelphia. Due to poor-decision making and hanging out with the wrong crowd in his youth, John was incarcerated for 24 years. It was while incarcerated that John was introduced to Scrabble, and he quickly distinguished himself as a skilled player, the confidence and camaraderie he discovered through the game motivating him to turn his life around. For almost 20 years, Johnny has worked with ASAP to engage students in Philly through Scrabble clubs and events. Additionally, several days each week, Johnny travels to the Juvenile Justice Center to mentor incarcerated youth over the Scrabble board. In 2017, Johnny received The Hero of Philadelphia Award from then-Philadelphia mayor James Kenney. In 2017 he also received the first ever Hero of Philadelphia Award from Kaplun & Marx, as well as the Humanitarian of the Year Award from Prince Hall Grand Lodge for his Scrabble work with Prince Hall Elementary School. He believes that “it’s not how you start but how you finish that people will remember you by.”