Tom is a native of Portland, Oregon, and has worked as a city planner in the Portland area for more than 25 years. Since 1993, he has worked for Metro, the elected regional government in Portland, where he manages the transportation planning program. Tom earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geosciences at Oregon State Univeristy (1984) and Master of Urban Planning degree at Portland State University (1986). In 1990, he was certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is an associate with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

Tom is an active conservationist and trail advocate in his personal life. In 2008, he co-founded Trailkeepers of Oregon, a new non-profit dedicated to trail stewardship where he continues to serve on the board of directors. He also founded the Mount Hood National Park Campaign in 2004, a project aimed at making Mount Hood Oregon's next national park. Tom maintains the WyEast blog as the forum for this project.

Tom is also an avid photographer, and has developed this web site as an outlet for his interests in urban design, community activism, photography, history and the outdoors.