A 10th generation Pennsylvanian, John R. Chrin was born at St. Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania and raised in Easton. Today, he is a successful self-made businessman and Partner at Circle Wealth Management, LLC, an investment advisory firm founded by his wife, Maria Chrin.

Home for the first fourteen years of John’s life was an apartment in Fountain Hill until he moved to Palmer Township. His mother, who had John when she was 17, worked hard to support him and his brother. John credits her, his grandparents, and step-father for the strong values and work ethic which has been the foundation of his success.

Education has also had a profound impact on his life. It was at Fountain Hill Elementary, Broughal Middle School and Easton Area High School where John found lifelong mentors and teachers who encouraged and inspired him. His first job at age 12 was as a paperboy delivering the Bethlehem Globe-Times. He enjoyed it so much that he doubled up and added the morning delivery route for The Morning Call.

John was the first member of his family to attend college and paid his own way at Lehigh University with loans, scholarships, and summer/part-time jobs. One of those jobs was at Keystone Food Products, a snack manufacturer in Easton, where he experienced the positive impact of a local business on the community. While working at Keystone, he became a member of the International Bakery and Confectionary Workers Union. During college, John also worked at Roadway in Tannersville and became a member of the Scranton Teamsters Union. In addition, he worked as busboy and dishwasher at the Minsi Trail Inn restaurant in Bethlehem.

John graduated with honors from Lehigh University with degrees in Economics and Industrial Engineering. He later attended Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, where he earned a Master in Business Administration with honors. It was at Lehigh that John met his wife Maria. They have been married for 30 years and have three children.

After Columbia, John began what would become a highly regarded career in banking where he earned praise for great achievement with the highest integrity. He rose through the ranks, during his twenty-year investment banking career, to become a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase.

In 2009, John decided to make a change and share with young people the lessons learned during the financial crisis. At the time, The New York Times described Chrin as the “rare investment banker who enjoyed keeping a low-profile.” He returned to Lehigh, as the first Global Financial Services Executive-In-Residence, to teach business ethics and mergers & acquisitions in the University’s College of Business and Economics.

After three years at Lehigh, John returned to the business world and joined Circle Wealth Management, an investment advisory firm founded in 2007 by his wife. Maria Chrin, a native of Honduras, had a successful 15-year career at Goldman Sachs prior to launching CWM. Its mission is to empower clients, 80% of which are women investors and their families, by helping them make sound financial and life decisions.

Based on his experience, John Chrin is a passionate believer in the economic power of education. He will strive to create affordable educational and training opportunities for students and adults in Northeast Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Winning the competition for good jobs isn’t just about degrees, it’s about learning skills and gaining knowledge that help people succeed in the real world.

New job creation and stronger local economies are among his top priorities. He believes that Members of Congress can and must play an active role in bringing economic development to their districts. In order to provide the right training programs and educational opportunities, there has to be an understanding of the needs of existing businesses and the skills which will attract new companies and industries to the region.

John’s first-hand experience with the best and worst of America’s businesses and of the global financial system will be a driver of his stance on policies. He is a unique advocate for reforms, especially those related to the financial system, in that he understands what the real world impact will be; whether laws will work as intended or make problems worse or potentially create new ones.