He has lived in Dubuque for the past 27 years and he and his wife, Teresa, have four children who are "native" Dubuquers. Jim was certified in Ruby Payne's Framework for Understanding Poverty in 2006 and a year later in Bridges Out of Poverty. Since that time, Jim has become a self-described "Bridges Evangelist", speaking to any group who will listen about the possibilities of addressing poverty through Dr. Payne's lens. Jim currently works with the Dubuque Circles Initiative as a facilitator to implement "Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-By World" curriculum.