John is a proud lifelong Illinoisian who made a career from supporting roles in the legal world. He finds himself energized by the opportunity presented by midlife and the mission of MenLiving. John finds joy in mission-driven work, human connection, deep conversation, and spending time in nature and especially hanging out with dogs.
John's family has deep roots in Illinois. After growing up West of Peoria and moving to Chicago in 1999, he now lives with his wife and dog in Evanston. His work life centers around legal support. After working as a paralegal for 20 years, he now helps lead a small B2B legal and corporate support services company.
Along the way, John has leaned into: a love of movies, travel, food, long talks, thought-provoking podcasts, architecture, live music, and drumming, his used-bookstore-owner era, anti-racism and social justice work, volunteering at the local animal shelter, a thru-hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail, and the B Corp movement (using business as a force for good.)
John found MenLiving in early 2024 after deciding to seek a place to unpack evolving feelings around issues like middle age, purpose, family, health, work, retirement visioning, and general life stuff. He describes his ML journey so far as “coming home to himself” and counts a great number of friends made through ML during this time.