After vowing to never work with youth, I became a camp counselor in 2006. I met and married the woman of my dreams, another camp counselor, before serving as full time program director in charge of facilitating team building experiences for youth. Upon receiving my wilderness leadership certificate, I moved to Atlanta to work as a program director with C5 Georgia, a five-year youth leadership program for high-potential youth coming from risk-filled environments. When I missed the first trimester of my wife’s pregnancy because I was backpacking with kids, I decided to get my M.A.T. in middle grade math and science education and begin a new chapter as a classroom teacher. 

 I am the STEM and IB coordinator of the first STEM certified middle school in Georgia. I have presented at several conferences including the NSTA, ITEEA, GEETA,  Georgia STEM Forum, Georgia Leadership Institute, The Georgia STEM Teacher Academy,and Georgia Learns. Additionally, I collaborated with the Georgia Department of Education to produce a video demonstrating exemplary STEM teaching practices and was one of 25 teachers in the country selected as a Northrop Grumman Teachers Academy Fellow.  I am a recipient of  the Tommy Pitchford Inspirational Educator award and the ITEEA Program of Excellence award.