John comes to ORS Impact having worked at the intersection of higher education and community impact initiatives for the past sixteen years.  He specializes in fostering cross-sector collaboration and employing co-design processes to build trust, access a rich diversity of perspectives and lived experiences, and engage organizational and community partners in an inclusive and participatory manner.  A former teacher, professor, university administrator and community coalition builder, John approaches evaluation as an opportunity for shared learning and helping organizations, systems and networks live their values to greater effect.  The work closest to his heart centers around promoting resilience at the individual, organizational and community level, improving access and outcomes for underserved communities, and interrupting patterns of persistent poverty, intergenerational adversity and racial injustice.

John earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Washington in 2005 and received a Peace Scholar award from the United States Institute of Peace for his work with cross-cultural reconciliation efforts among Catholic and Protestant youth in Northern Ireland.  He currently serves as Chair of the Pacific Circle Consortium, an international organization of educators, researchers and policy makers dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and cooperation among the people and nations in and around the Pacific.  When away from work, John can be found kayaking on the bay, cooking up a storm, and continuously learning from his daughters—an endlessly fascinating enterprise.

His recent projects and publications include:

·       King, J., Phillips, A., Bloomquist, T., & Buckley, P. (2020).  Coalescing Streams: Interrupting the Progression of Adversity through Cross-Sector Mobilization and Systems Alignment.  In Reardon, R.M. & Leonard, J. (Eds.), Alleviating the Educational Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences: School-University-Community Collaboration, 259-284. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

·       The Southern Oregon UpTogether Demonstration Project investigating the impact of braiding support for social and financial capital development among low-income families with young children.

·       Creating a Child-Success Delivery System in Southern Oregon, a multi-year cross-sector effort to ensure that all families have the knowledge, skills and support needed to ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to thrive.