I was born in Halifax in 1966 and grew up in and around Wolfville, Nova Scotia. My two grandfathers, one a gunsmith and the other an Anglican priest, powerfully influenced my life by teaching me the value of community. My mother, a lifelong caregiver to seniors, lives by a motto that has since become my own: “why else are we here other than to care for one another?”
I self-financed my Bachelor’s Degree in History from Acadia University by working as a waiter and playing in rock-and-roll bands. After graduating in 1988, I moved west to pursue a musical career, first living in a basement apartment on Hertford Street in Burnaby before moving slightly south to Wilson Avenue. After a stint working in Radio Shack in Metrotown Mall, I worked as a printing press operator by day while playing in a rock band at night. My band State of Mind was awarded three 1991 West Coast Music Awards and was featured on radio stations across Canada as well as Much Music.
In 1993, I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Simon Fraser University. After graduating in 1995, I was employed as an at-risk youth worker, a planning assistant for the City of Vancouver and organizer for a wide range of community groups including the Friends of Hastings Park, Vancouver’s Coalition of Progressive Electors and a volunteer-based project which removed 13 tons of garbage from Burnaby’s Still Creek.
In 1997, I was accepted to the PhD program in Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I financed my studies through scholarships and teaching at five University of London Colleges – including serving as Director of the Public Policy Program at the top-ranked School of Politics and Sociology, Birkbeck College. During this time I travelled to many European countries, the Middle East, Africa and India and worked with scholars from Oxford, Harvard, Columbia, the University of Toronto and UCLA.
In 2002, I was hired by SFU and am currently a tenured associate professor on leave at the SFU School of Public Policy. I have published in numerous high quality academic journals and have given over 1,000 interviews in local, national and international print and electronic media including the Burnaby Now, Globe and Mail, New York Times and the CBC as well as being a regular guest columnist for the Vancouver Sun. I have also served as policy advisor to the British Columbia New Democratic Party, British Columbia Local Government Elections Task Force, City of Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission, British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly, British Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, the Great Bear Rainforest Solutions Project, City of Vancouver Mayor’s Office, City of Calgary, and the Vancouver Public Library.
In 2008, I married Jeanette Ashe. Born in North Vancouver and raised in Port Coquitlam, Jeanette has taught Political Science at Douglas College since 2002 and is currently completing her PhD at the University of London. Since 2008, I have split my time between British Columbia and London to spend time with Jeanette while she pursues her studies, taking a sabbatical from SFU in 2010 to serve as Visiting Senior Scholar at the London School of Economics. Jeanette and I are now back in Canada to stay and are currently renting an apartment while we look for a more permanent home.
High res photos:
Official Photo | In Burnaby Heights | On Parliament Hill | At SFU
