Jace was born in Maryland, but spent his childhood split between Bartlett and Cordova, TN, just outside of Memphis. He stayed there until he moved across the state to Knoxville to attend the University of Tennessee. Jace graduated from UT in the spring of 2021 with a degree in geography and a minor in history. Through his coursework in geography, he developed a particular interest in geographic information systems (GIS).

Jace is also interested in the environment, and that curiosity helped him find AmeriCorps as he was deciding what to do after graduation. He was initially attracted to Knoxville’s CAC group because of their focus on the environment and recognized the program as an opportunity to grow professionally. When he came across the open position with the TPO he was eager to learn more about the position. With this opportunity he hopes to help UT students become more aware of AmeriCorps and the opportunities their programs offer.

During his time with the TPO, Jace will help with bike shop outreach, Bike Month, events like Parking Day and Tour de Lights, the Smart Trips program, and bicycle and pedestrian counts. He’s already started reaching out to local bike shops and is enjoying it. He recently shared that he hopes to foster more local outreach, especially at UT, to increase awareness of the TPO’s work.

Jace’s familiarity with GIS also gives him an opportunity to get involved in other projects with the TPO and Planning during his time with us. He’s particularly excited to learn more about transportation-related GIS work.

When he’s not in the office, you can find Jace running on the greenway, beer tasting, and playing video games. He’s also a fan of seeing movies, especially anything Marvel, in the theater. Jace happily reports that he’s enjoyed a few at the downtown Regal location in person since it reopened. We’re excited to have him with us this year and look forward to all his contributions!