ABOUT ME
Professional Headlines
5 years as an Independent Consultant
15 years in Education Human Capital
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Entrepreneurial Executive Director
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Successful development of revenue and talent pipelines
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Extensive C-level recruitment and selection
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Organization culture and systems building
MBA from UCLA
Early career working in direct service and management in varied school and youth service settings
My Story
My roughly 20 years as a leader in the education sector have been informed by my experiences as a student, a professional, and a parent. I live in La Cañada, California and have 3 young boys, who attend the public schools down the street from my home. My wife is a professor of psychology at California State University, Northridge where she runs a community clinic serving young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. For over 20 years, the Los Angeles area has been my home and the amazing diversity of people and places in this city has made it an amazing place to live and learn.
I grew up in rural Minnesota where I attended public schools, learned the value of hard work, and endured winters that will never allow me to take California weather for granted. I went to college in upstate New York where I majored in Peace Studies, worked extensively with kids in a variety of settings, and confirmed that I wanted to build my career doing something meaningful to improve the world. A critical part of this journey was four summers working as a counselor at a brand new summer camp, where I would meet my future wife and learn so many lessons that have served me through my career.
My early career was spent working for organizations that provided direct service to young people with severe behavioral challenges. I gained a keen understanding of the challenging and important work happening in schools and realized the creativity and problem solving needed to line up resources so that teachers and students could reach their full potential. I earned my MBA from UCLA in order to sharpen my entrepreneurial skills and operational abilities so that I could better create impact through my work.
I have spent years as a leader in the education human-capital space, growing organizations that develop leaders committed to increasing education equity in the US. I never get tired of learning from smart people who are passionate about creating change in the world, and my professional experiences have afforded the opportunity for me to truly appreciate the critical importance of diversity in any complex human endeavor.