'Revolutionary Optimism'

Almost a decade earlier, the Cape Cod native was working on a lobster boat hauling heavy traps up from the depths. The struggles he saw around him went far beyond the punishing job at hand, he says. Physical ailments, troubles with the law—and most of all drug dependency—plagued his crewmates.  

Determined not to be pulled under, Black sought a lifeline. In 2016 he joined the Marine Corps.  His first deployment, to the Black Sea, was eye-opening.  

“That was right around when Putin was first probing in Crimea, trying to annex it. So we were kind of the bulwark in Eastern Europe,” he explains. “My second deployment was to Okinawa in 2018 during a big crisis with North Korea launching ballistic missiles over Japan.” 

Witnessing global tensions at close range taught Black the importance of international relations, he says. He entered the service as a 19-year-old who “got most of [his] news from Facebook” and didn’t bother to vote in the presidential election—but he left in his mid-20s with a keen interest in foreign and domestic policy. He took classes at a community college, then transferred to Suffolk and used the GI Bill to earn his undergraduate degree in international relations.  

“I really fell in love with the academic environment in higher education and being around more diverse people and being exposed to different perspectives,” says Black.  

In an era of intense political polarization and domestic and global uncertainty, he is motivated by a guiding principle. “I abhor bullies,” he says, whether that means fighting against poachers in Africa or for human rights here at home. One issue close to his heart is what he sees as a troubling lack of support for veterans who have served their country.  

“I definitely know now that I want to work in the veteran space,” he says. “I like working with veterans because we have a unique understanding that the civilian sector doesn’t really get.” 

Black pursued an MAAP/MPA at Suffolk to gain the skills he’ll need to make a meaningful impact. Through MPA Professor Brendan Burke, he connected with retired colonel Bob Notch, MPA ’23, who was appointed to lead the Commonwealth’s newly established Office of the Veteran Advocate in 2023. Black was so impressed by the work Notch and his office do that he immediately lobbied him for a job.  

As he finishes up his dual-degree program this May, Black is also putting the final touches on a report for the Office of the Veteran Advocate that looks at roadblocks to healthcare access. It’s required painstaking research, including poring through databases of doctors and checking to make sure their information is accurate so veterans and their families can find quality care when they need it. He hopes his report, and the work he’ll do in the future, will help ensure that agencies within the Commonwealth are honoring their commitment to veterans. 

While he acknowledges that the current moment holds significant challenges, including cuts to the VA and other systems that impact his work, Black maintains a spirit of “revolutionary optimism.”  

“Being a Marine, I view everything through a tactical strategic lens,” he says. “As an infantryman my whole job was to go out and find the enemy and destroy them. And that’s still the way that I approach a challenge.”