Hi, my name is Jeffrey. I am married to my beautiful wife, Alayna, and have three amazingly wonderful (and a bit crazy) kids: Alair, Saige and Zakai. And I care about people.

This is my story. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with my Doctor of Pharmacy and started working at the only level-1 trauma center in the state of Oklahoma, OU Medical Center. After a few years, I transitioned into a clinical pharmacist position with an emphasis in infectious disease and anticoagulation. For six years, I practiced in this role, until my hospital leadership approached me with an unexpected request: to become the next Director of Pharmacy. This amazing experience allowed me to grow in leadership and collaboration skills, implement additional clinical pharmacy services, and decrease the overall cost per patient day of our pharmacy budget. For most people, this may have been the pinnacle of their career, but for me it wasn't. There was a disconnect; and to understand the reason for this, I must now share my personal story.

I chose the career path of pharmacy because I wanted to make a lot of money, live in a really big house and own expensive, nice things. Then came the summer of 2007, right before the start of pharmacy school when my life got turned upside-down. It was my first time in sub-Saharan Africa and I was confronted with the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I was in Mozambique and stayed at a compound with several hundred children who were orphaned due to this disease, yet these kids were some of the happiest people I had ever met. It was there that my perspective changed, along with my ambitions and goals. I spent the following summers in Uganda, then Haiti, then Peru, then Honduras, and finally back to Peru. Yet, it wasn’t enough for me to have these “short-term” experiences so I ended up moving into a homeless shelter. Then a former cocaine apartment complex. Then a neighborhood filled with drugs, prostitution and violence. Which is where my family and I resided for a decade. Why? Because we care about people.

After years of compartmentalizing my life into professional and personal boxes, I decided that something needed to change. That is when I started the Health Equity and Global Health Fellowship through Purdue University / USAID. To the world around me, this was a major step back in my career path. I went from a highly esteemed position of Director of Pharmacy back to the ranks of a student, yet this was the dream: to discover how my professional and personal goals could collide in order to address health disparities in under resourced settings. And now, for the last two years, I have lived this dream in various cities across the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To explore different perspectives and cultures. This is the story of my life.

Interests

• dining
• traveling
• music
• basketball

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Met my wife at an orphanage in Mozambique. Got married at my parents orphanage in India. And have 3 amazing human beings whom I get to shepherd into this world.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have taken a very "non-traditional" route in my career and tend to lean towards places of tension. I am motivated to make an impact in this world and welcome any opportunities to learn from others.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My experiences have shaped my perspectives and I am always excited to share stories with those interested. I'd also be happy to buy dinner!

Countries I’ve Visited

England, France, Haiti, Honduras, India, Japan, Kenya, Mozambique, Peru, Uganda

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Kenya, United States