Originally from New Jersey, Jon also lived in London, England; San Francisco, California; and Albuquerque, New Mexico before making Portland his home in 2004. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where he majored in Creative Writing. He received his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School.

While in law school, Jon worked as a certified law clerk for Portland State University Student Legal Services where he assisted student clients with Landlord-Tenant, Debtor-Creditor, Consumer, Family, Employment, Criminal, Small Claims, and Personal Injury cases. His favorite part of the job was the client interaction and diversity of issues.

In his free time, Jon enjoys spending time with his wife and friends. He likes to travel, cook, read, make short films, and plays several different instruments. He has made music all across the United States and in Europe, sold CDs on every continent except Antarctica (back when people still bought music), and had a short film that he worked on screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.