Raised by an educator

Tim’s mom is an educator, and growing up around that work gave him a clear sense of how much teachers care — and how often that care is taken for granted.

He saw how much time and energy educators pour into their students, how much they carry home with them, and how little slack the system gives them in return. It left him with a simple view of education: it’s not abstract, and it’s not optional. It’s something people commit themselves to, even when the politics around it fall short.

That perspective stuck.

No straight line into politics

Tim didn’t go straight from high school into college or a political career.

He spent two years doing service industry work — catering, landscaping, a short and not-very-successful stint in construction, and waiting tables and bartending — to save up for a higher education. For much of that time, he worked two jobs at once, often seven days a week, because that’s what it took to make school possible.When he did go to college, it was with intention.

Tim earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Foreign Politics, from Roanoke College. While there, he focused on political economics — how economic systems, power, and public policy intersect, and how the rules we write determine who benefits and who gets squeezed.

It didn’t turn him into an academic. It helped him make sense of things he’d already seen.

Why he chose organizing and political advocacy

Early in his career, Tim interned for Senator Tim Kaine, where he saw how American politics makes it difficult to deliver even basic results for everyday people once partisanship and procedure take over.

So he chose a different route.

Tim went on to do community organizing for the National Education Association, then moved to Richmond, VA to work at a local nonprofit focused on college affordability, campus safety, and economic opportunity for future generations.

That organizing and advocacy work led Tim to the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, where fights over education, affordability, public health, and economic fairness were colliding with environmental decisions that communities had little say in.

At the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Tim has worked with local residents across the Commonwealth to challenge powerful interests, stop harmful projects, and push for policies that put people — not corporations — first.

While doing that work full-time, Tim went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in Political Communications, Public Relations, and Media from Johns Hopkins University, sharpening his skills to explain complex issues clearly, build public pressure, and help communities win fights they weren’t supposed to win.

The Work (So Far)

Tim’s politics aren’t theoretical. They’re built on campaigns that delivered real outcomes for real people.

Over the course of his career, Tim has helped:

• Secure more than $100 million in increased financial aid for in-state students, expanding access to higher education and easing costs for working families

• Help communities block unjust landfill proposals, preventing environmental harm from being concentrated in rural places with the least political power

• Stand with local communities to stop harmful data center projects that drive up energy bills, strain energy infrastructure, and override local voices

• Lead statewide advocacy and communications efforts at the Sierra Club of Virginia, helping communities fight pollution, protect public health, and hold powerful interests accountable

None of these wins came from waiting for permission. None were achieved when the odds were in our favor. But they were possible because people demanded better from our government.

Why he’s running

Tim is running for Congress because Washington has gotten comfortable telling people to settle — for rising costs, underfunded schools, polluted communities, and representation that feels distant at best.

He doesn’t accept that.

He’s running to:

• Reform the rules of politics so government answers to people, not big donors and special interest

• Restore real representation to communities that are tired of being talked over

• Revitalize the American Dream so education is affordable, work pays, and the future is worth believing in again

A New Way Forward

This campaign isn’t about being polished. It’s about being honest, organized, and willing to fight for a system that finally works for all of us.