John Noel was raised on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. He attended University School of Nashville and graduated from nearby Brentwood High School. He attended Lake Forest College just north of Chicago and during a summer break interned at the Nashville Tennessean newspaper as a general assignment reporter. After fellow Tennessean Al Gore's selection to be the Vice-Presidential candidate in the campaign of 1992 he took a semester off to work as a campaign aide to Tipper Gore at the Little Rock Headquarters for Clinton-Gore. After the inauguration, John spent his Spring term studying abroad in London, England. He graduated in 1994 from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL with a Bachelor degree in History and went to work for then Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen’s campaign for Governor. Later he traveled abroad and settled in Atlanta just prior to the 1996 Olympics.
John purchased and renovated a historic home in the northwest Atlanta neighborhood of Riverside (Fulton County), and became involved with the fledgling neighborhood association, eventually becoming its president. Seeing a lack of assistance and leadership at the state level in his area, John decided to stand for election as the representative from the 44th GA House district. In a major upset of a 30-year incumbent, in 2002 John was elected to the Georgia Legislature.