My Apporch
Strategic communicator, storyteller, and recording artist. I hold a Master of Communication Management from USC Annenberg (3.91 GPA) and a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication from the University of Denver, but the credential that matters most is the one I carried through every challenge to get here. I shaped my academic journey through perseverance, community, and a conviction that communication is one of the most powerful tools we have for moving people and creating change.
What I do with it is diagnostic. Across four consulting practicums: Reach TV, Warby Parker, The Frugal Frigate, and HECHO. I researched the client, found the gap, and built the strategy to close it. That's the work I want: figure out what isn't functioning in an organization, then make the case for the fix.
The other half is execution, and I've done it across digital marketing, content production, donor relations, and executive stakeholder communication in entertainment, sports media, and nonprofit work. Four years at the University of Denver, Clarion, writing profiles of music producers, celebrity entrepreneurs, and athletes, taught me how a story lands. Being a singer-songwriter who produces and releases original music every year has taught me to understand audiences from the inside, because I've had to reach them myself.
Recognition
I am an honored recipient of the Mountain Mover Award and the President's Education Awards Program distinction.
A nominator shared, "Look up mountain mover in the dictionary, and there will be a picture of John. John overcomes physical challenges and learning challenges with equal determination and tenacity. He is a strong reminder of what hard work and utilizing resources can accomplish."
"Do or Do Not, there is no Try." That line fosters the way I believe in myself and climb every mountain to reach ambitious goals through hard work, imagination, and resilience.
President's Award for Educational Excellence
The nation's most prestigious awards for individual recognition from the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education.
President Barack Obama and I believe that honoring student achievement and commitment is important. With specific goals and high aspirations, we can encourage our nation's young people to continue to achieve at higher levels. The President Education Awards seeks to honor students who meet challenging standards of academic excellence, as well as those who have overcome obstacles to their learning. It recognizes achievement and hard work in the classroom while encouraging students to reach even higher.
1) 3.5 GPA, certain levels on state tests, or receive a recommendation from a teacher, as well as a strong production of academic excellence.
2) Demonstrate unusual commitment to learning in academics despite various obstacles. Maintain a school record that would have met the school's selection criteria for the President's Award for Educational Excellence
3) Illness, personal crisis, or special needs prevented the student from maintaining such high standards despite hard work.
4) Achieve high scores or show outstanding growth, improvement, commitment, or intellectual development in particular subjects, such as English, math, science, etc. Demonstrate achievement in the arts, such as music or theater
Testimonies
