Candidate for
Council Member; City of Emeryville

John has over ten years of combined work experience as a disaster relief coordinator, a public policy advocate, and a legal services attorney assisting low-income families, seniors, people living with disabilities and the homeless.

John grew up in the Midwest, a place he credits for his strong work ethic and commitment to community. He spent his first year of nonprofit service teaching subsistence farming, AIDS education and literacy skills to communities in Kenya and Tanzania.

John later joined the AmeriCorps program, where he worked for over a year as a Disaster Relief Coordinator for the American Red Cross. John traveled to communities around the country, leading disaster services relief efforts and providing families in crisis with emergency assistance. When not on disaster assignment, he taught first aid, CPR and water safety to elementary school children across northern Los Angeles County. John's work with fire and emergency response personnel has given him a strong understanding of public and community safety and preparedness.

John's commitment to community service led him to pursue law, where he focused his studies on human rights and poverty law. He spent seven years as a legal aid attorney, assisting indigent families, fighting to protect seniors at risk of losing their homes and pursuing litigation against landlords who discriminated against tenants on the basis of their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. John's work has made him a strong and trusted voice for low-income and working families, as well as people experiencing homelessness.

John lives with his partner of over seven years, Aaron, and their 11 year old shepherd-mix, King. John and Aaron have lived in Emeryville for two years and have fallen in love with Emeryville, their new home. King is a rescue that John adopted 10 years ago when he was a law student.

John believes in keeping communities affordable for everyone and promoting public safety and preparedness. He advocates for affordable homes, transit-oriented development, smart growth communities and inclusive social policies in his regular, daily job as an advocate and policy director at Housing California, a nonprofit that promotes affordable home development as a major solution to homelessness. John is excited about the opportunity to use his skills and experience to help make Emeryville a more affordable, inclusive and just community for everyone.

John is actively engaged in helping address homelessness here in Emeryville. Leveraging partnerships he has with advocates and providers around the region and across the state, John is working with local officials and neighbors to help find compassionate, local solutions for addressing homelessness. An outdoor enthusiast and lover of the environment, John participates in shoreline cleaning events here in town and around the Bay. He also supports the community awareness efforts of our local public safety personnel.

You can often find John out on early morning walk with King in their Park Avenue District neighborhood. On the weekends you're likely to spot him running along the Emeryville shoreline, having breakfast with neighbors at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe or a late day drink with his friends at Prizefighter.