John is the President of the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon.  As Chapter president, he leads native plant hikes in Oregon’s natural areas, organizes the Chapter’s Nature Talk series, and oversees the administration of the Chapter’s two scholarship funds for Oregon college and university students, among other duties.

John serves as treasurer for Straub Outdoors – one of the premier outdoor education program providers in Oregon – and for the Nellie Thompson-Dorothy Patch Scholarship fund for college-bound students who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, or Pacific Islander.  John also mentors students at Highland and Hoover elementary schools, serves on the Advisory Board of the Elakha Alliance, and is a CERT volunteer.

John worked in the energy field for nearly 40 years.  He served as Director of the Oregon Department of Energy from 1993 through 2001 and was an Oregon Public Utility Commissioner from 2003 through 2017.