Healthcare professional, educator, and global health leader turned documentary storyteller.
John has had a “long and winding road” before launching Regret-Free Productions. After a career in Sports Medicine, that included stints in the Baltimore Orioles organization and the world of college athletics, he pursued additional education that led to work as a healthcare provider, a university professor, and a health systems administrator.
Along the way, John became very involved in global health and has been on numerous medical mission trips to Haiti, along with work in the Dominican Republic and the African nation of Liberia. The focus of his PhD in Leadership and Policy was on best practices for working cross-culturally in lower-resource countries, and his trips to such regions of the world proved to be life-changing. He saw remarkable people overcoming intensely challenging situations and doing it with a grace and resilience that was awe-inspiring. Some of the incredible leaders he has met along the way have served as the impetus for the Agents of Change docuseries concept — and he is excited to introduce our viewers to many of them!
John loves the use of storytelling to inspire and educate his university students, and is looking forward to expanding into the realm of documentary-style storytelling with the help of the Regret-Free Productions team. His more than 34 years of patient-interviewing experience have also uniquely prepared John for his role as host of the Agents of Change docuseries. He has always been able to create a safe and supportive relationship with his patients, so that they feel comfortable sharing intimate details of their lives — and this ability to really connect with people will serve him well as he strives to understand the inspiring leaders we will spotlight.
During a trip to Liberia, the people of the village of Yangaya made him an honorary chief and gave him the name Gbeni Wenta. The original Gbeni Wenta was described as a great and powerful chief who focused on building schools and medical facilities.
It was an amazing experience for John — who grew up in the small Northern New York college town of Potsdam and is now based in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.
