i am #UnapologeticallyJosh and THIS is #TheUprising on Straight Independent Radio and 97.1FM in Waterloo, Iowa.
Roger was raised in Red Creek, in Wayne County. He graduated from Red Creek High School and the United States Naval Academy before serving for more than a decade in the Navy, to include combat operations as a naval flight officer.
Roger deployed twice to the Middle East, flying on and off of aircraft carriers. He trained with the Marine Corps in Yuma, Arizona, and flew one of the first airborne missions to combat ISIS in 2014. While in uniform, Roger served as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, as a defense assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as chief speechwriter for the first African-American woman to hold the rank of four-star in the nation’s history.
While in the service, Roger was a passionate advocate for defense reform and small business. He stood up to an entrenched bureaucracy and fought to get more diverse men and women promoted to major leadership positions in naval aviation. As an early advocate for the Force of the Future initiative, Roger was part of a team of reformers who advocated for better family leave, increased child care service hours, and access to mental health services for military service members.
Since leaving active duty, Roger has worked extensively with entrepreneurs and veteran-owned small businesses. He served as an advocate for veterans and co-host of the 2 Vets Upstate podcast. And he launched Veterans Organize CNY, a community organizing group dedicated to making it easier for veterans to access the political process, and for the political process to access veterans.
Recently, he withdrew his candidacy for New York's 24th Congressional District, where he was attempting to gain the Democratic seat at his face John Katko in November. He is now the Senior Advisor for Taking the Hill. Roger and his family make their home in Syracuse.