In fact, it’s through the Rotary Club that he initially connected with Habitat. After a volunteer work day with the club at our New Heights neighborhood, he became a new home construction core volunteer for nearly a year. Eventually, he sought a role that wreaked less havoc on his body. The ReStore and Office fit the bill.

“Evan is such an easy going person who just wants to help in any way that he can. He is determined to put as much of a dent into a never-ending stream of data entry as he possibly can, which we really appreciate,” shared Jenny Bromley, Operations Associate who oversees Office volunteers. “I think Evan really enjoys his version of retirement, where he can keep busy on his own terms doing work that helps others.”

Married for almost 45 years, this father of two and grandfather of three, says, “my life is good.” Evan and his wife, Susan, moved from Mount Airy, MD to Asheville in 2020, desiring to be closer to their daughter and her family. Their son isn’t too far either, being in Jacksonville, FL. In fact, that’s where they sought refuge when Hurricane Helene hit.

In a brief summary, Evan will tell you he’s a retired Software Engineer. But when you get to peel back the onion like I did for this interview, you learn just how interesting his career, and his life, has been.

With an undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of Maryland, his first foray into the working world was at psychiatric hospitals. Determining that wasn’t his life’s calling, he started selling high end audio equipment while he figured out next steps.

That eventually led to a position as Operations Manager for the audio company. Later, he transitioned into Information Technology (IT), the field he had been interested in during college, but dissuaded from pursuing because it was not thought to have much potential back then.

Though a jagged path to get there, Evan followed that early passion and earned a Master’s degree in IT Management from Johns Hopkins University. He went on to do software engineering and development for many companies, ran his own software development business for 20 years, and worked as IT Director for John Hopkins Medicine for 3 years.

Evan feels one can sit around and complain, or get involved, volunteer, and do things that make you feel good. His positivity radiates as he talks about his life, his family, and his interests. Evan and his wife travel extensively, having visited places including but not limited to: Patagonia, Tanzania, Iceland, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Peru, Ecuador, S. Africa, Zambia, and Botswana.

When he’s not volunteering or traveling, he can often be found enjoying his dream custom audio room, finally owning and enjoying the kind of equipment he once sold. Another fun tidbit: he was a drummer back in the day! Fond of all kinds of music, Asheville Symphony performances are also something he relishes. And as mentioned earlier, so is meeting new people. He and a fellow ReStore volunteer and their respective partners, had dinner together recently. Volunteers often develop friendships that blossom outside of their weekly shifts.

Evan also really enjoys getting to know Habitat homeowners. “I was working alongside a Habitat homeowner; small world, she actually used to work at a business near where I once lived. She has worked so hard her whole entire life, but not in anything that earns a lot of money. Habitat is so huge for her, and so many others, for whom homeownership would otherwise not be possible.”

“What Asheville Habitat does is life-changing for homeowners and their families. Habitat invests in people in a really significant way. I try to tell people that Habitat is the most successful investment firm; not in the traditional sense, but in this way.”

Evan, we appreciate your weekly “investment” in this life-changing work. It takes all of us to ensure more of our neighbors have a stable, affordable place to live.

If you’re interested in doing feel-good work, making new friends, and helping make the dream of homeownership come true, click here to learn about all our Volunteer Opportunities.