J.R. grew up in Texas and attended Southern Methodist University where he graduated in 2004. He started his career in pharmaceutical research shortly after and moved to Los Angeles in 2009 for a position at a pharmaceutical company. He currently works for Johnson & Johnson as a Manager of Clinical Operations. J.R. moved to Santa Clarita in 2013 with his husband, Travis, who grew up in Santa Clarita. J.R. has always been passionate about training and development. Working for a large company has provided many opportunities for growth and leadership development which J.R. brings into the role of VP with JCI Santa Clarita. After volunteering at a Santa’s Helpers event in December 2019, he decided JCI was the right organization for him. He joined the training committee in 2020 and was appointed VP of Training & Development for 2021.