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TJ grew up in a Hutchinson, Kansas home with a working class father and a mother who taught English at the local community college. He and his two siblings were fortunate enough to live in a stable home, that emphasized hard work and dedication. He graduated at the top of his class at Hutchinson High School with an International Baccalaureate Diploma and was a state champion debater and tennis player. While in high school, TJ became the center of the local spotlight as he led the campaign to pass Hutchinson’s bond issue. The project developed the school’s technical education center that provided students with career training opportunities.
TJ’s dedication to social justice was inspired by public service from his mission trips inlfuenced by his Lutheran upbringing. Despite receiving scholarships to schools outside the Midwest, he decided to pursue a degree in political science and journalism at the University of Kansas in order to remain close to his family and community. While at KU, TJ became involved in student politics and actively worked to develop the KU Core Curriculum and the Freshman Retention Committee. He served as Student Union Activities Vice President and developed a campus initiative to facilitate and encourage controversial campus conversations.
Today, TJ continues his mission of community development with his involvement in the University of Kansas and his work at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. In 2012, TJ was in charge of managing the Reno, Sedgwick and Ellis portions of the Davis gubernatorial campaign for Kansas. After working with the campaign, he recognized the need for reasonable compromise within Kansas’s politics. He immediately pursued a seat on his local USD 308 school board and was unanimously selected to serve as the acting president. TJ is the youngest member to ever serve on a 6A school district in Kansas. Under his term, the district prioritized cost minimization and across the board classroom reviews.
Along with his work on the school board, Blake served as the policy advisor for Kansas House Representative Barbara Ballard of the 44th District. Together, the two worked to develop reasonable legislation to regulate concealed carry on campus. This legislation is currently being considered in the Kansas House of Representatives. Additionally, Blake has spent the last year working with the Department of Corrections to establish the Juvenile Justice Workgroup. The organization has worked to hold juvenile offenders accountable while also promoting support for the youth of Kansas.
When he’s not working within politics, TJ teaches tennis lessons, volunteers with Boy and Girls Club and Big Brother’s Big Sisters. As an alumni member of Alpha Tau Omega, he has worked to ensure Greek Life at KU enforces positive masculinity. He and husband Tucker met at their hometown church and have been together for the past four years. Tucker has served three years as mayor of Wichita and prioritized agricultural stabilization and urban economic revitalization. The two have a daughter and a son who will one day be the future of Kansas politics.