John Slifko, a lifelong scholar, is pursuing his Doctorate in Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. His most recent endeavor represents a wide ranging academic career studying in a variety of topics. John Slifko, a UCLA Master’s graduate in Urban planning, was awarded the Cotton/Beland/Associates Fellowship in Planning for distinguished work in environmental planning. In addition to this fellowship, John Slifko worked as a graduate research assistant in engineering, and studied public affairs.

John Slifko majored in urban studies as an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, during which time he was the Editor of the Urban Action Planning Journal. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 1987. He later used his urban planning skills to publish papers on the subject, and gain employment as a city council Deputy Planner in the development of Los Angeles International Airport.

Also a scholar of the Freemasons, a fraternal organization with 16th-century roots, John Slifko is Co-Director of the Roosevelt Center for the study of Civil Society and Freemasonry. In this role, he strives to encourage ongoing scholarly work on the Freemasons through fundraisers, lectures, strategic plans, and support of Masonic researchers. John Slifko chronicles figures in Freemason history and served as an expert consultant for the Discovery Channel film, “Hunting the Lost Symbol,” which is about Masonic culture.

A member of The John Dewey Society and the Academic Society for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism, John Slifko enjoys geographical exploration and archeaoastronomy, the study of how ancient civilizations studied the sky. He is also a member of the American Historical Association and the Association of American Geographers.