Adam grew up with a park at the end of his block, where he would frolic with other neighborhood children on the playground and around the pond. His lifelong attachment to parks and greenspace expanded and flourished when he attended Southern Illinois University, surrounded by the Shawnee National Forest and many other wonderful nature spaces. As his college years progressed, he developed a beard, as well as a stronger connection to the outdoors. He explored state parks and discovered the intrinsic value of protecting and preserving nature and the environment. While at school, he worked with the Student Environmental Center to help implement a green fund at SIUC, which now generates $200,000 annually for renewable energy and sustainability projects at the university. He was also President of the Geography Club his senior year, where he and nine other club members received the Environmental Ambassador award for each volunteering over thirty hours towards environmentally related projects in the area.
After school, Adam landed his first Student Conservation Association internship. He served as an Environmental Education intern with the National Park Service in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the fall of 2009. Enthralled with his experience as an SCA intern, he sought out a more long-term position, which led to his discovery of the Green Cities Corps. He has now upgraded from a small park at the end of his block to four large, beautiful city parks in Pittsburgh that he works in and explores with his childish exuberance still intact.
