A native of BC, born in North Vancouver, he began his career working with the Orphan Seal Recovery team. He later joined the Stanley Park Zoological Society, where he coordinated education programs with the Stanley Park Zoo. John joined the City of Vancouver in 1992, where he began his city career as a zookeeper. John later worked in Special Events and Filming, facilitating the use of more than 200 parks and coordinating sports field bookings and picnics. John then took an active role in on-site supervision, which led to the creation of the Vancouver Park Board’s Ranger Program, a program he designed and evolved into a team of more than 37 park rangers. John has also co-led the Vancouver Park Board’s Wildlife department, looking after both habitat and conservation incentives, coordinating park partner involvement, and developing best management practices for species at risk, as well as overseeing Canada Goose, Starling, Great Blue Heron and Beaver Management programs.

John is currently the Manager of Animal Services for the City of Vancouver, supervising over 30 Animal Control staff members and overseeing the very busy Vancouver Animal Shelter. John is also a director of the City of Vancouver’s Emergency Social Services program and a team captain on DAT (Disaster Assistance Team). He is also involved with the Burrowing Owl Recovery Team of BC, a captive breeding program with three breeding facilities, responsible for reintroducing Burrowing Owls to their native grassland habitats. John has also been showcased on several natural history productions, including Discovery and Suzuki’s Nature of Things, for his work with Canada Geese.