John Motz

John Motz was born in Toronto and his parents moved to Kitchener while he was still an infant. He has lived in Kitchener-Waterloo ever since. John attended Saint Jerome’s High School in Kitchener, then went to the University of Waterloo, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences. He worked at the family business, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, during weekends and summers while attending high school and university. After graduating from university, John worked at the Cambridge Times newspaper in Cambridge, first as a reporter and photographer, then as news editor.

When his family sold its share of The Record John returned to his studies at the University of Waterloo, achieving Master of Science and PhD degrees in Earth Sciences. He then worked as a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo. After John and his business partners sold a precision-manufacturing firm they owned in Guelph, John decided to pursue interests in volunteering and travel.

John volunteers at the University of Waterloo Earth Sciences Museum and the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum. His hobbies include watch and clock repair, camera collecting and photography. John and his wife Heather travel extensively and consider New Zealand their favourite place in the world, outside of Canada.