I have always been somewhat of a modern day Renaissance Man. In high school and college, I always had my hand in many different subjects, activities, and interests. Among those, my love of education, technology, writing, and design have been at the heart of many of my endeavors.

I have been an educator in varying capacities: as a challenge course facilitator, an outdoor educator, a classroom teacher, an online teacher, and an academic advisor. I have always found a passion in helping others learn and grow, just as I have been helped by friends, family, and mentors along the way.

I have always dabbled in technology: teaching myself coding languages like Pascal, Basic, and C++ in high school and HTML, CSS, and Javascript in college. I regular "mess" with gadgets and software to get them to do exactly what I want. I have no fear of diving into technology to figure out how it works.

I've always had a love of good writing and good design and that has expressed itself in my writing, photography, and web development. I love making words and media both utilitarian and aesthetic. I would later pursue this interest in my work for Bethel Online Academy and through a Certificate of Technical Writing and Editing at the University of Washington.

In all these fields, I have remained in a state of continual growth, always seeking to learn and expand. At the University of Puget Sound, I studied many subjects from Philosophy to Creative Writing to Geology to Psychology. I also became equally involved as a leader in many groups: the Residence Student Association, Leadership is Action Council, Puget Sound Outdoors, and Passages. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, I quickly returned to Puget Sound to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching.

Leaving Puget Sound—armed with a degree in the theoretical and a degree in the practical—I entered the world of teaching in the Bethel School District. First as a classroom teacher, then as a teacher for the online program, I explored the world of standards-based curriculum, mastery-based assessment, and differentiated instruction. In my time with the Bethel District, I saw the power of what online learning could do for the education field.

During my time in the Bethel School District, I stayed connected to Puget Sound through a backpacking class that I taught there. I also continued my work with the challenge course as the Program Director of Northwest Teambuilding. These outlets united the soft skills of leadership, communication, self-esteem, trust, and support with the hard skills of teaching English in the classroom and online.

As I worked in these two fields, I soon began to realize the larger impact I wanted to make in the world of education. I saw how technology could combine with learning to build highly successful earning communities in all kinds of educational arenas. So, I made a decision to leave my work as a teacher and head up to Seattle where I began as the Distance Learning Coordinator for the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association, an organization that works with community health clinics in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska. In that capacity, I began to develop curriculum and influence the direction of our distance learning program. I continued to teach as a part-time Career and Technical Education instructor for Washington Virtual Academy. And I continued to work on my web design skills as a freelance developer.