Juan has been a member of the non-profit community since attending a non-profit high school, where he raised $600.00 for a theatre production he initiated. Since then, he has studied at some of the most prestigious schools for set design in the country, such as Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. Continuing his career in theatre, working at the Kuumba Workshop in Chicago, and Amethyst Ensemble in Cincinnati. He attended Xavier University as an Electronic Media major, developing his video skills, and went on to become a Public Access television producer. All the while studying his craft of grant writing. In the spring of 2016, he and a friend founded Vulcan’s Forge Performing Arts Collaborative, a 501 (C ) (3) arts organization serving disabled artists in the Greater Cincinnati region. During his tenure at Vulcan’s Forge, he raised over $80,000 as their grant writer. He then founded Wanderlust Fundraising LLC to give back to the non-profit community he loves so well, and the awesome people in it that are all doing great things to make the world a better place for all, by allowing it to utilize his talents as a grant writer on a commission basis for those non-profits that cannot afford a full-time grant writer. Juan’s lived experience of having bi-polar disorder and being a bi-racial man in America gives him a unique perspective and insight into the world that he brings to his grant writing and artistic expression. He is also a produced playwright and feels that his creative writing ability allows him to craft compelling narratives and use engaging storytelling in his grant writing. Juan completed his Certificate in Accounting in August of 2026. Juan’s fiancée, Felicia, and her daughter Milea support his career in the art and non-profit sectors. He has two daughters from a previous marriage, Eileen, and Ash who identifies as a transman.