Senior Campaigns Manager
I grew up in a small town in Vermont – so small that I attended a neighboring town’s high school because our town didn’t have one. When I visit my hometown today, so much of it is physically the same. The same homes, the same farms, the same general stores, but so many of the faces I used to see around town have changed. The majority of the people I grew up with don’t live there anymore. Like myself, nearly all my classmates moved away in search of broader economic opportunity because even after pursuing higher education, we couldn’t afford to live in the communities we grew up in. The housing shortage impacts small towns, big cities, and everywhere in between. Housing in all of our communities should be abundant and affordable. As Matthew Desmond wrote in Evicted, “Without safe and stable housing, everything else falls apart.”
After spending countless hours watching their neighbors stand up in public meetings to oppose new homes, Joh helped to co-found RVA YIMBY in 2023. Prior to joining YIMBY Action, Joh worked as a lobbyist at the Richmond Association of REALTORS® (RAR) for over a decade, ultimately becoming the organization’s chief lobbyist in 2022. During Joh’s time at RAR, they developed an expertise in housing policy, land use, and legislative advocacy. They graduated from the University of Richmond in 2012 and are currently pursuing a Masters of Urban & Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University.
