This Now page is inspired by Derek Siver.
Updated June 8, 2025, from Good Ambler on a bright, sunny day that is the hallmark of summer in Chicago.
I'm having conversations with a wide swath of my network to explore what I want to do next in my career. Front-runner ideas range from staying in real estate investments to platform strategy/operations (e.g., Chief of Staff) as well as executive search. I'm very plugged into the hotel real estate job market these days and happy to discuss opportunities, share perspective, and compare notes. Feel free to send me an email to set up a time.
In addition to my swimming efforts, I've been doing weekly yoga again with The Lab and riding my bike around the city.
I shot a tremendous amount of photography 2010-2013 and made decent money (especially for a college student). I set it aside after that and have sine only dabbled. In 2023, I took a wonderful tour through Florence where we were given a polaroid camera and a pack of film. That three-hour excusion reminded me how much I enjoy photography, and I've since been accelerating how often I take the camera out. I've recently been attending events with Chicago Streets and Beyond and posting my photos on my Instagram.
Many of the good folks on r/ChicagoFood spun out to Discord in 2021 to plan events around the city. There's often 10+ events per month, and I try to make it to 1-2. My favorite underrated surprise has been Hermosa Family Meal.
I also help organize a small-group dinner of fellow Kellogg alums here in Chicago. We've been doing a dinner once a month since late 2019, and I've made sure we haven't yet gone to the same place twice.
I'm making an effort to stay up to date on the latest features/platforms and to integrate LLMs into my workflows. I've been sharing content that I find helpful with a small list of friends in an effort to further my own understanding and hopefully help others who aren't as plugged in. Shoot me an email if you're interested in joining the list.
I'm a huge fan of science-fiction and fantasy works and often have 1-2 books I'm reading and an audiobook that I'm listening to. Lately, I've been revisiting some classics (LotR, 1984, Wild Seed), indulging in some progression (Dungeon Crawler Carl and He Who Fights with Monsters), and exploring newer works (Tchaikovsky, Drew Hayes, Gwynne, Ambercrombie, and, of course, Sanderson).
I identify as having liberal views and am struggling to reconcile how little power I have as an individual in the face of the executive branch of the US federal government ignoring checks and balances. I try to avoid getting bogged down in the minutea of the ever-present political circus, but it's irresponsible (and difficult) to fully tune out.
The issue I feel closest to at the moment is the dismantling of the federal government's support of scientific research. My undergraduate degree was in chemistry and I started to pursue a PhD degree and was awarded an NSF fellowship before I decided the life of a researcher wasn't for me. The advacements that have come from investments via the NSF, NIH, DoE, and others were one of the cornerstones of the US global leadership over the last century. The brain drain is real and will have lasting effects on a generational scale.