Born and raised in a small town outside Augusta, ME as the youngest of three siblings, Tim decided to move to Boston right after high school at the age of 17 shortly after coming out as a gay man.  He has been in Boston ever since except for a year in San Diego, and now lives in Somerville, MA, working as a cloud architect in an information technology company.

After trying many times to get together with a Vermont friend, Joe in March 2013 invited Tim to join him on an NWTA weekend at Clara Barton.  Going more to spend time with his friend and not knowing what to expect, he soon decided he wanted more from MKP, and New England MKP has benefited directly ever since from that decision.  Since his NWTA Tim has completed a PIT and an ST1, staffed ten times including several Gateways, and served as our NE Area Steward from July 2021 to April 2022, during the COVID pandemic.  Shortly after his NWTA he joined Men on the Loose Men’s Circle in Arlington, MA and has been with them ever since.

As a man among men, Tim creates a safer and stronger world by stepping outside his comfort zone and offering validation, compassion, kindness and mentoring to others.  He says this mission reflects what was absent from his life during his childhood, and now considers important to share these gifts of validation, compassion, kindness and mentoring with others.  He is now a mentor for people at work, and in his interpersonal relations he shows up with compassion and kindness, while making sure to give credit to people, and thank them for the work they have done.

Tim also exhibits compassion, kindness and mentoring in his dedication to a mission of supporting individuals fleeing their home countries, where being LGBTQ is illegal and frequently deadly, and seeking asylum in the U.S.A.  These asylum seekers are escaping from over 70 countries around the world where they might be executed, jailed, beaten and ostracized. About 10 years ago he took note of a 20-year-old gay man who was led to the gallows in Iran and this bothered him so much that he wanted to do something about it, so he found the LGBT Asylum Task Force.

The LGBT Asylum Task Force helps LGBTQ people navigate the asylum process and provides them with stipends, food, and shelter during the asylum process when they can’t work.  After helping them obtain a work permit, which takes about a year, they give them four more months to start an independent life.  They have already helped 280 people and they are currently helping 27.  For these asylum seekers Tim picks up at the airport, helps them get settled, transports them to medical appointments, does fundraising, and serves on the steering committee for the organization.

When Tim was asked what his favorite MKP experience was, he noted that he most enjoyed his first staffing, a Gateway in West Virginia during which he participated in the Chicken Skit. What was the most insight he has gotten from Men’s Work?  He says the MKP concept of ‘Are you that man?’  Now when he thinks something needs to be fixed, he asks himself if there is anything he can do.  That’s how he ended up working with the LGBT Asylum Task Force.

As MKP New England Area Steward over the last year, Tim was affected by the number of men willing to give their time to support him in his role, helping him get through things in a way that felt clean and right for him.  The experience made him more confident and aware of his leadership competence.

Asked what famous person he would like to join him on a deserted island, Tim said Ian McKellen, who, now in his 80’s, had a TV show that Tim enjoyed.  More recently Tim has savored a music video by George Ezra in which McKellen was featured.  Ian would have brought entertainment to Tim’s time on that island, though he would have preferred a good friend in lieu of Ian.

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