Max was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Prescott in 2000 to attend Prescott College where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies and Photography. In the fall of 2002, Max began work with the U.S. Forest Service as a Biological Sciences Technician for the Prescott National Forest. Soon after, he was offered an opportunity to become the Forest Ecologist for the Prescott National Forest through the Student Career Employment Program. Upon graduation, Max stayed on with the Prescott National Forest, spending the past six years as their Ecologist, working on projects ranging from existing vegetation mapping, to environmental planning and analysis, to restoration of burned and disturbed ecosystems. While working for the U.S. Forest Service, Max taught himself Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and currently serves as the GIS Specialist on one of 16 national inter-agency Type-1 incident management teams. In this role, he is called upon with his team to manage some of the nation's largest and most complex incidents, primarily wildland fires. Recently, Max has accepted a temporary promotion to the US Forest Service's Southwestern Regional Office as an Image Analyst on the Regional Riparian Mapping Project. In this capacity, he is charged with mapping riparian communities throughout much of Arizona, New Mexico, as well as parts of west Texas and Oklahoma. Max's hobbies include photography, and he was recognized for his talent as the 2003-2004 Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation Fellow. He is also an active volunteer in the community, and has been a "big brother" through Yavapai Big Brother's Big Sisters since 2004.