My Story

I’m an experienced social impact leader with energy, curiosity, and a commitment to racial equity. I am passionate about helping other social impact leaders and philanthropists do the most good possible.

Until June 2022, I was President of  Ecotrust, a 30 year-old social enterprise serving communities from Alaska to California. In my time, we successfully transitioned beyond our iconic founder, significantly updated our strategy, grew and diversified our team, weathered a complex legal and reputational crisis, and strengthened our business model. I learned humbling and valuable lessons about advancing racial equity in that role.

While at Ecotrust, I also taught a semester-long graduate course on philanthropy and social change at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, where I earned my Master of Public Affairs almost 20 years ago. Here’s a podcast from Princeton in which I talk about social change leadership.  

Prior to that, I spent 11 years at Mercy Corps, where I helped position the agency as one of the most respected humanitarian organizations in the world.  As Chief Development and Communications Officer, I served on the global executive team, reported to the CEO, managed a team of 70-plus people around the world, and raised more than $300 million.

For the past decade, I’ve been a non-family board member of a $100 million family foundation, serving as a trusted advisor on strategy and operations. I have developed close, trusting relationships with many philanthropic families and foundation leaders.

Before all that, I ran a successful congressional campaign, endured life as a staffer on Capitol Hill, served the U.S. government in Bosnia and Afghanistan, worked at a couple of consulting firms, and spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Most important, I’m a husband and the father of twin middle-schoolers.  For fun, I like to be outside with my heart pumping: running, skiing, paddling, and, recently, surfing.