Ivan earned his Associates Degree in Administration of Justice and began working in public safety in 1987. He worked five years as a detective’s aide for a large police agency in Southern California. He was hired as a contact representative for the Social Security Administration and was later promoted to Claims Specialist with tours of duty in Public Affairs, Team Leader, Protective Payee auditor, and fraud investigation.

In 1996, Ivan was elected as a local officer with American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). He took a sabbatical in 2000 and was re-elected in 2010. In 2011, Ivan was elected to National Fair Practices and Affirmative Action Coordinator for AFGE District Eleven. In 2016, Ivan was elected as Vice President of Kitsap County Central Labor Council. Ivan retired from federal service in 2016 and then organized labor in 2018. He was hired as an Employee Relations Specialist for The Lighthouse for the Blind Inc. in Seattle, Washington. Ivan became a certified mediator in 2019. In his collective experience, Ivan has represented the views of employees, public sector unions, disabled individuals and his employer. He has represented before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), Equal Employment Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and U.S. Department of Labor.

In his journey, he has written and published a fictional murder mystery titled “The Bloody Shield” and he has created murder mystery stories for murder mystery parties. In his spare time he loves to cook and does leatherwork.

Ivan has been in the blindness movement since 1985.