About Justin

My journey with service to my community began in my home state of North Carolina as a firefighter. With the encouragement of others in emergency services, I became a paramedic in the mountains of Western North Carolina responding to what was often one of the worst days of a fellow human beings life. It was in this crucible of life and death that my compassion for others was forged. I directly saw the social determinants of health at work in my patient’s health outcomes. This was also my first exposure to working with the unhoused population and seeing how lack of the basic human need for shelter directly caused increased morbidity and mortality. Many of my emergency service colleagues would honestly prefer not to interact with this population, but I felt the opposite emotion. I saw my own families’ financial and housing instability growing up as a source of understanding and compassion for how precarious many folks really are between having basic needs met and not. After many years as a paramedic, I went on to work for the Red Cross both driving the blood bus and using my IV skills to collect life-saving blood products that we are chronically in short supply. In 2019 my husband Andrew and our two pups packed up our lives and fulfilled a life long dream of his to live in the Pacific North West. Living in Eugene and working for both HIV Alliance and most recently Lane County Health and Human Services in outreach-based client facing roles has allowed me to sink deep into the interconnected services offered within Lane County and Oregon more broadly. I enjoy sharing this knowledge with others and making connections between organizations that promote

better client outcomes and client empowerment.

While not at work I enjoy exploring the PNW with my husband. You can find uskayaking in the Summer, snowshoeing in the Winter, and riding the bike trails year-round. Our dogs Max and Baxter are also always down to come along on ouradventures, especially walks along the Coast.