Dear Friends,

If you’ve found your way to this entry, you’ve seen enough of my website to learn that it’s really nothing more than a colossal advertisement for myself – my professional history, activities, schedule, achievements, etc. In fact, there is almost nothing about the things in my life that are most important to me. This is because, while I am a very public person, I’m a private person too. My private life may inform all the things that I do in public, but I still strive to keep it private.

I graduated from Harvard College and stay connected to that grand institution. While on their Board of Overseers in the 90’s, I created Arts First, an annual springtime festival of undergraduate arts. I go back every year to proudly preside over the festivities, the event’s grizzled founder. Back then I also established the Harvard Arts Medal, presented yearly to alums who have gone into the creative arts (honorees have included Jack Lemmon, YoYo Ma, John Updike, Tommy Lee Jones, and Bonnie Raitt). As a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, I serve on a commission to advance the cause of the humanities and social sciences, advocating for action by the government. And I use my barnstorming solo tours and performances for kids to advocate for literacy and arts education for children.

Come to think of it, all of the above is pretty public, too (and writing about it feels kind of boastful at that). What is most important of all to me, and most private, is my wonderful family. Mary Yeager and I have been married for 32 years now. She is a professor of economic and business history at UCLA, the daughter of a Montana farmer, and the love of my life. My older son Ian maintains dual careers as an actor and marriage & family therapist, and is the proud father of my two grandchildren. My daughter Phoebe is a nurse currently working in New Jersey for the fine Nurse and Family Partners program. My younger son Nate has a dual career too, as a rock bassist and sommelier at a terrific Manhattan restaurant.

These four splendid people are at the center of my life, its greatest treasures, and the source of my deepest pride. But they have their own stories. The preceding paragraph is all that you will learn about them on this web site. Now back to your browsing.

Warmly, John