I was born in Long beach, California in 1947. My parents were both immigrants to the United States. My mother was Dutch and my father was German. I attended parochial schools for my formal education in Greensboro, NC.

After High School earned degrees in Economics, Electrical Engineering, Elementary Education, Masonry and Carpentry. Most of my adult life was spent in engineering and Information technology, from which I retired four years ago.

After retiring, I returned to school to become an elementary school teacher. I have lived in the Hampton Heights neighborhood for thirty-three years. When the Charter School located in the neighborhood, I felt that a natural fit had presented itself.    

I believe that the higher level intellectual processes have been diminished in our technical age, and replace with facts and numbers. My classroom philosophy is that “You gota’ be smarter than the average bear.”  My position in the student’s lives is to help them realize the joy of thinking; not to answer but to question.