Jake grew up in the 50s, which was not a nurturing era for little Gay boys. Jake used drugs and alcohol to numb out the challenges of early life, which included a dysfunctional home, molestation and bullying by classmates and teachers. It was the 60s, folks were opening the doors of perception, through whose trippy portals Jake landed in San Francisco.
Jake recently completed a two-year hitch of guiding nursing students to care for both their patients and themselves. Jake is involved in the fight against antisemitism – his goal is to integrate the Jewish American experience into the Coachella Valley’s Ethnic Studies Programs. Jake is a writer whose words give voice to the people we pass by on the street, but we never really see.
The AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s snapped Jake out of his fog of survival which opened his heart to his community and led him to channel his anger into political activism. Jake sobered up after losing his core circle of friends, the ones who grew him into the man he is today. By discovering these things called feelings, Jake passed through a new door, finding authenticity in friendship, caregiving and as a wordsmith, whether on the stage or the page.
Jake grew up on Long Island, in New York and received a BA in English from the City University of New York. After Jake graduated from San Francisco City College’s Vocational Nursing program in 1978, his formative years were lived out in Los Angeles, back when you could rent an apartment in a swank neighborhood for $700/month. Ultimately, Jake moved to Palm Springs a decade ago, seeking a quieter life, forgetting that, when you make a plan, God laughs.