Jonathan D King

Background

About Jonathan D King

Helping mission-driven leaders, teams, organizations, and brands tell better stories, build stronger communities, and cultivate meaningful change for the flourishing of people and planet. Values I seek to inhabit in an integrated life: attention, compassion, wonder, belonging, community, creativity, equity, justice, hope. I'm a writer and a lover of people and nature. I'm here to listen, learn, ask clarifying questions, craft and amplify compelling stories, work for just, equitable, and creative solutions, and seek the flourishing of neighbor and earth. I have a perennial posture of curiosity and wonder in my relationships, work, and play. I'm a deep thinker and feeler, who values meaningful connection and collaboration. Some of the defining moments and experiences of my life include:~Growing up in rural southern Illinois with many memories on my grandparents' farm, in the woods, and at the lake ~Studying abroad for six months at the University of Cape Town, South Africa and travelling throughout southern Africa ~Working for three summers in Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado ~Completing a bachelors degree from the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Urbana ~Raising three children with Amber King ~A one-year community development residency in the historic Binhampton neighborhood of Memphis, TN, focused on empowering refugees resettling in the USA ~Three subsequent years in Memphis, TN working with community-driven, housing-justice organizations in the historic Binghampton and Orange Mound neighborhoods ~Sitting on front porches, in living rooms, and in kitchens with older adult homeowners in Memphis, listening to their stories, amplifying their stories ~Partnering with community-development NGOs in Choluteca, Honduras; Dira Dawa, Ethiopia; Kigale, Rwanda; and Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal.~Creating opportunities for college and post-college students to develop a life vision ~An extended sabbatical of traveling in the western United States and exploring National Parks and public lands with my family and our RV ~Exploring the coastline and interior of the Pacific Northwest and New England with my brother Matt King ~Planting gardens and raising chickens ~Writing a Master's thesis on the history of South African resistance to apartheid and the reception of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's legacy within that struggle ~Publishing "Wayfinding with Dietrich Bonhoeffer" with co-author Joseph Thomas and Cascade Books (Eugene, OR)