Jon is a highly sought after poet, ubuntu advocate, facilitator (over 13,000 hours in practice), modern psalmist, leadership coach, community builder, and equitable education champion.

Jon has written poems for immigrant and refugee leaders about the gifts of their leadership and creative talents. He has written for ourBridge for Kids and performed poems at the Brooklyn Poets Festival and the D.C. Francophonie festival. He regularly performs the poems for large gatherings and his last two sold-out shows centered on the theme of the Zulu word “Sawubona” or “I see you and value your whole presence.”

Recently, he has been exploring a new writing style of psalms as praise to God for the gifts of his renewed faith and love of writing.

Jon is also the Founder and CEO of Circles Community which is a consulting firm that creates high functioning teams by building a sense of interdependence. He has nurtured a gift for connecting teams, seeing potential, and building programs to exchange ideas and address some of our world’s greatest challenges.

He has been named an “Opportunity Champion” by the Leading on Opportunity organization and has advised national groups like The Brookings Institution, Opportunity Insights, Welcoming America and PBS on how to create more equitable networks of social capital and a greater sense of belonging.

Jon has a B.A. from Davidson College and is an intermediate Spanish speaker. He is a lover of music, coffee shops, cooking for friends and exploring the outdoors with his beloved pup Larry!

Jon envisions a world where every person feels welcomed, seen, heard and completely understood. Where we begin to really see and feel how we are a part of each other. Where we can share in both our suffering and joy to create a more human world.