I was born in 1986 in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Huntsville, Alabama as a Southern Baptist. I moved very frequently, which led me to become both independently minded and adept at making new friends. After a family tragedy moved me to explore spirituality beyond the conservative evangelism of my youth, I found my way to meditation and a more inclusive spirituality.
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, but when I started college I did have a burning question on my mind: "Why is there so much suffering in the world we could easily avoid?" I mean seriously, isn't life hard enough already? Where's the disconnect between people and the things they need for a decent and fulfilling life?
Eventually I became interested in economics and gained more political awareness as I headed to study abroad in Kyoto for my junior year, when early events of the financial crisis were just beginning to unfold. After graduating in late 2008, one side of my family ended up losing both its business and the beautiful lakeside property we called home.
That’s what motivated my commitment to understanding how the crash happened and to learning what could be done to protect families like mine in the future, and began questioning the fundamental premises of the economy and money system. In the process, I discovered a number of truly incredible stories in history involving people creating new kinds of money to fund all kinds of things, often in the face of major crises.
This meant that rather than remaining trapped by rules of the system decaying around us, we could create fresher, fairer ways of seeing and sharing value as communities. It became clear that while the old system would continue to concentrate wealth, having alternative ways to meet our needs would only become more valuable. Over time, it began to feel like this ability was like a real life superpower.
I decided to do whatever it took to understand how this power could be used and shared for the common good. Nowadays that looks like working with values aligned startups, policy makers, funding ecosystems, and others promoting the shift “from degen to regen” in the economy and society.