It is hard for me to form a coherent narrative from my life thus far. I grew up in a town of 300 people in southwest Arkansas and then moved to Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 11. One of the through lines in my life is a constant awareness of people who were different than me. Little Rock is a city that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement and so did Memphis, Tennessee—the first place I ever lived outside of Arkansas. In some sense, everything I know about how to listen and learn from another culture comes from growing up in the South and a seemingly innate Faulknerian instinct that “The past is never dead. It's not even past.”

My years in Memphis 2014-2018 were some of my most formative in terms of worldview because of what was happening in the country, the friends that I had and what I was studying in graduate school. I was a part of diverse community and made lifelong friends with people who had the religious front, my MDiv and education favorite experiences House loves to think, write, and teach but he is, first and foremost, a life-long learner with an insatiable curiosity for all things human. After completing undergraduate studies in history and political science he delved into religious studies, earning a Master of Divinity (MDiv) and discovering a love for the ancient world and languages.

In 2017, humanitarian work took him to Greece for several years where he worked in the context of the Syrian Refugee Crisis. He met his wife (a French citizen) in Greece and, because of his experiences with refugees, he decided to go back to graduate school to study Middle Eastern Diplomacy at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). After completing his studies at SOAS he has begun to establish himself in the field of Kurdish studies, contributing an article-chapter to the book *Kurdish Diplomacy: Negotiations and Peace Processes in Kurdistan and Beyond* and presenting a paper on the political history of Kurdish migration at the largest global scholarly conference on migration.

Humanitarian work continues to be a cornerstone of Jackson’s life. With his wife, he has founded the GenerationCare Foundation with the mission is to make a difference for future generations by helping each person live a healthier and more productive life. Because of his experience, he cares deeply about those who have been displaced by conflict and, through his organization, hopes to use humanitarian work not only to provide emergency aid but also to make a sustainable difference in families and communities for generations to come.

One of Jackson’s most useful hobbies is language learning. He has studied classical Hebrew and Koine Greek formally and has attended both Arabic and Kurdish language schools. He is conversant in the Levantine dialect of Arabic and two dialects of Kurdish but speaks only French on the same level as his name English. He knows just enough modern Greek to be dangerous (and get from point A to point B). This linguistic versatility has allowed him to have rich experiences in different cultures but most importantly it has given him friends in many countries.

Jackson is excited about leading this trip and the opportunities it will provide to look deeper into human history. He is convinced that pursuing a deeper and more meaningful life is the best way to create a more just and peaceful world.