Gene is around 50 years old' his hair is grey and kept short. He stands about  5'10 and is in decent physical condition, though he really feels it after a day of excertion. He is quiet and thoughtful, preferring to listen carefully before speaking his mind. He seems confident in wilderness and social settings. The clothes and gear he carries seem to be well worn, but of high quality and carefully maintained.

Gene grew up in a small town in Maine, where he was an avid hunter and fisherman. He spent most of his childhood trapsing around the great north woods with his grandfather. After high school he attended UMass and studied environmental science. Upon graduation he entered a career working for a civil engineering company specializing in large rail and highway infrastructure projects. His work on permitting these projects requires him to identify native plants and where to find them in the landscape. He has some knowledge and practice in foraging wild edibles and traditional medicinal uses for plants he is familiar with. He has taken some graduate classes in soils and has a strong understanding of organic gardening. He trained in HEMA in College and has maintained an interest in western fighting styles since.

Gene is in decent shape for his age as he continued with regular field work up to the outbreak. He is at home in the eastern woodlands. He is somewhat thoughtful and team oriented with a talent for finding win/win solutions to problems.

His son was attending University of Tennessee at Chatanooga when the shit hit the fan. He has been working his way toward the school to look for some sign of him. The journey has been long. He stayed in rural areas through most of his journey, heading west along the new Hampshire and Vermont borders. He crossed the Hudson, north of Albany, then worked his way south through the Catskills into Pennsylvania. From there, he has been following the mountain ridgelines south toward Chattanooga.