Ethan's current focus is Florida’s disaster recovery system, which has long been a core part of the state’s economy, public finance, and social contract, but is being reshaped as storms grow more frequent and more intense. His work examines how this system has been built over time across federal, state, and local governments, insurance markets, and private industries; how risk and resources are distributed across places and communities; and how policy and market structures could be reorganized to better protect households, local governments, and frontline communities while strengthening Florida’s long-term economic resilience.

From 2013 to 2023, Ethan worked at the Ford Foundation, where he designed and led a cross-departmental funding strategy that paired five-year general support with coordinated investments in multi-issue state policy campaigns. His portfolio focused on expanding social investment, protecting and extending rights for immigrants and low-income communities, and testing new policy solutions across New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. Earlier in his career, he worked on the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns, organized low-wage workers with Unite Here in Miami, and served as a civil legal advocate at Project Renewal in New York.

Ethan holds a B.A. in international politics from Westminster College (PA). He serves on the board of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund and serves in leadership at his local United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation. He has published on philanthropy, community organizing, and disaster recovery, and lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his husband and their four foster children.