John ChilesJohn Chiles

John Chiles, a college instructor and entrepreneur with a focus on sustainability, is running for House District 135 as a Democrat. A Springfield native, Chiles attended Glendale High School and graduated from Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and mathematics before moving to the West Coast to learn more about renewable energy. While out west, Chiles earned a master of business administration from Presidio Graduate School in Seattle, which has since merged with the University of Redlands. He also held a variety of jobs, working at a hydroelectric power plant, a green builder and a cleantech angel investment firm. In 2018, Chiles moved back to Springfield to start the Ozarks Renewal LLC with his dad, Mike Chiles. Originally intended to oversee the construction of greenhouses powered by waste heat from the landfill and a data center, the organization has since evolved into a consulting firm, through which the father-son duo can help communities across the country build similar projects. A former carpenter, Chiles is the founder of Embersound, a Springfield-based company that creates natural-acoustic phone speakers made from Ozarks hardwoods. Chiles also works part-time for his alma mater, teaching impact investing and venture capital in the University of Redlands’ Presidio Center. He primarily teaches online, but flies out west “every month or so” to deliver a lecture in-person. Outside of his work, Chiles is a former board member of the Springfield Community Gardens, and longtime volunteer of Y-bees, a group that supports YMCA Camp Wakonda.