John was born in Corpus Christi, and has lived and worked along the Texas Coast for most of his life. John grew up enjoying lots of hunting and fishing, sandlot baseball, football, riding motorbikes, and going to the beach. His early work experiences came from spending summers in the hayfields, and working at various oilfield related jobs. After graduating from La Porte High School, he worked part-time in a number of agricultural and oilfield occupations while working towards college degrees. He obtained an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

After spending some time in Texas and overseas in the oilfield services industry, John pursued graduate degrees from the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University in College Station. During this time, he worked as a Research Associate where he assisted faculty and other graduate students in analyzing the financial consequences of alternative economic and policy situations. After completing a PhD in Agricultural Economics, he worked as an Extension Economist for Louisiana State University. Spending time developing and implementing producer-oriented educational programs further demonstrated to him the importance of farmers and ranchers being more proactive about reducing the risks associated with marketing and management decisions.

Since 1999, John has been affiliated with Hurley and Associates and established Southwest Agribusiness Consulting, Inc., a firm that provides comprehensive price risk management services to producers and users of agricultural commodities throughout the Southern Plains. He works with individual customers, and provides leadership in the development and implementation of price risk management plans to fellow staff. He and his wife Leslie, and their four daughters Anna, Evie, Zoey, and Tilly live in College Station.