Meet Jean-Luc
So first things first, I guess we have to address the name. No, I’m not French, although some of my ancestors did come from France a few centuries ago. The long story short is that my parents met in French class in high school, and once they named my older brother Philippe, they couldn’t really stop the trend there.
Anyway, I was born in Ellicott City, Maryland, but spent much of my formative time in North Carolina, from annual mission trips with my youth group to spending time on the lakes with family. In May 2016, I graduated from Elon University with majors in Political Science and International Studies and minors in Philosophy and East Asian Studies. I have family across the state, from High Point to Cary and Wilmington, and have always felt at home in the Carolinas.
In December 2018, I moved back to the state to advocate for protecting our coast from offshore drilling, and I have been active in conservation work ever since with the League of Conservation Voters and Environment North Carolina.
From an early age, I have been active in civic engagement and environmental education. I remember following every election since 2000, and I wrote my first letter to my congressional representation when I was 11. My mom still has the letter, and even then, I was writing about my concerns regarding climate change.
In middle school, I conducted a two-year-long science project testing biodegradability claims of commercial upholstery fabrics using consumer techniques in a backyard composting tumbler. Two trials resulted that the vast majority of fabrics showed little-to-no signs of decomposition, and the presentation of my findings won the county science fair in the Environmental Science category.
During high school, my contributions in conservation were largely limited to projects I completed with my Boy Scout troop, but I also interned with the county executive’s office in 2012 in Howard County, MD and spent a third of that time identifying best land use management practices across the country to implement in the county. Howard County is now adopting an aggressive forest conservation policy to deal with developmental issues like increased flooding; I’m not responsible for that but it was definitely something I had looked into at the time.
In recent years, I have also volunteered with a number of environmental groups working on watershed protection projects, wetland restoration efforts, oyster gardening, litter cleanups, and advocacy days with state legislators.
I took an interest in my grandparents’ and mother’s gardens at an early age, and I spent countless hours weeding and watering with them over the years. I recently became an avid gardener myself and have packed over 60 containers in my small apartment terrace, growing an assorted variety of blueberries, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, bell peppers, corn, beans, strawberries, leek, green onions, snow peas, turnips, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce. I’m planning right now for fall season and excited to sow some new seeds!
I have a deep and profound respect for our farmers and the critical role they play in supporting the food security of our community, and I look forward to building relationships with Wake County’s farmers.
I actively volunteer for local nonprofits including various CSAs and conservation groups such as The Produce Project, the Wake Audubon Society, and Environment North Carolina, and I am always looking for more ways to get involved with my community!
Anyway, I was born in Ellicott City, Maryland, but spent much of my formative time in North Carolina, from annual mission trips with my youth group to spending time on the lakes with family. In May 2016, I graduated from Elon University with majors in Political Science and International Studies and minors in Philosophy and East Asian Studies. I have family across the state, from High Point to Cary and Wilmington, and have always felt at home in the Carolinas.
In December 2018, I moved back to the state to advocate for protecting our coast from offshore drilling, and I have been active in conservation work ever since with the League of Conservation Voters and Environment North Carolina.
From an early age, I have been active in civic engagement and environmental education. I remember following every election since 2000, and I wrote my first letter to my congressional representation when I was 11. My mom still has the letter, and even then, I was writing about my concerns regarding climate change.
In middle school, I conducted a two-year-long science project testing biodegradability claims of commercial upholstery fabrics using consumer techniques in a backyard composting tumbler. Two trials resulted that the vast majority of fabrics showed little-to-no signs of decomposition, and the presentation of my findings won the county science fair in the Environmental Science category.
During high school, my contributions in conservation were largely limited to projects I completed with my Boy Scout troop, but I also interned with the county executive’s office in 2012 in Howard County, MD and spent a third of that time identifying best land use management practices across the country to implement in the county. Howard County is now adopting an aggressive forest conservation policy to deal with developmental issues like increased flooding; I’m not responsible for that but it was definitely something I had looked into at the time.
In recent years, I have also volunteered with a number of environmental groups working on watershed protection projects, wetland restoration efforts, oyster gardening, litter cleanups, and advocacy days with state legislators.
I took an interest in my grandparents’ and mother’s gardens at an early age, and I spent countless hours weeding and watering with them over the years. I recently became an avid gardener myself and have packed over 60 containers in my small apartment terrace, growing an assorted variety of blueberries, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, bell peppers, corn, beans, strawberries, leek, green onions, snow peas, turnips, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce. I’m planning right now for fall season and excited to sow some new seeds!
I have a deep and profound respect for our farmers and the critical role they play in supporting the food security of our community, and I look forward to building relationships with Wake County’s farmers.
I actively volunteer for local nonprofits including various CSAs and conservation groups such as The Produce Project, the Wake Audubon Society, and Environment North Carolina, and I am always looking for more ways to get involved with my community!