I grew up in Winter Haven and currently reside in southeast Lakeland. I am the eldest of two children adopted by a now-retired nurse and a teacher. In February of 2023, my wife and I welcomed our first child into our home, bringing the household roster to seven: three humans, three dogs, and a cat. I play seven instruments, collect flat caps, lead the Lakeland Sea Shanty Club, and am an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves and Orlando Solar Bears.

 

Professionally, I have held leadership positions in the safety and security, solid waste, and hospitality fields, and have also worked as a correctional officer and a bus driver. I've been involved with sports officiating since 2004, have been a high school baseball umpire since 2008, and have also spent several years officiating high school and college softball and high school basketball.

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As a new parent, I have become more concerned with what the future of our society will look like. A strong education system is crucial to ensuring that our society is full of people who are intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, inclusive, caring, critically-thinking, logical, and are always challenging the world around them to be better than it was the day before.

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Click here to learn more about my perspectives on issues that are present in our education system.