Evans earned his B.S. in Public Policy and Administration from Western Oregon University in 1992 and his M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Environmental Policy, Rhetoric and Social Influence, and American Politics) from Oregon State University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a volunteer fireman with the Polk County Fire District #1, a teacher at Western Oregon University, Chemeketa Community College and Oregon State University and President of Northwest Passage Trading Company. He served in the United States Air Force from 1993 to 1997, and in the Oregon Air National Guard from 1997-Jul 2010. Evans served in the United States Air Force for 20 years before retiring in 2013. During that time, he participated in combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2014, Evans defeated Republican candidate Kathy Goss, becoming the only Democrat to win a seat previously held by a Republican in the Oregon House of Representatives that year.[2] In 2016, he retained his seat by defeating Republican challenger Laura Morett.[3] In 2018 he defeated Republican challenger Selma Pierce to retain his seat for a third term.
