I was born in Huntsville Alabama while my father was serving in the Army.  I grew up in the small town of Clark Mills, NY and went to elementary and graduated high school in nearby Clinton.

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I was first drawn to Scouting before I could even read.  My family was visiting a relatives house where I found a Scout Book on the table.  Even though I was to young to read the pictures of Scouts doing cool things in the outdoors appealed to me and when I was in second grade I remember my dad taking me to sign up night at my elementary school.  He later became my Den Leader and Assistant Scoutmaster.  In 1985 I became a staff member at Camp Kingsley beginning a career working summer camps that continues to this day.

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After high school graduation I joined the US Army as a Geodetic Surveyor.  I was stationed at Ft Belvoir, VA but spent most of my time travelling across the US and the Middle East doing survey missions.   When my enlistment was up I was offered a position at Cedarlands Scout Reservation as a Trek Guide. I later became program and high adventure director for 6 years.  After my last year at camp, I was approached by the local Scout Executive about becoming a District Executive and started in November of 1995.

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In the first phase of my Scouting career I served three different districts and went from District Executive, to Sr.  District Executive, Program Director, to Field Director.  In 2010 my position was eliminated for financial reasons.  When I could not find a job reasonably close, I decided that I needed a job that was nearby.

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It was at this point I became Executive Director of Hope House, a soup kitchen and day shelter in Utica, NY.  When I took this job on, Hope had a $60,000 operating deficit.  In two years, along with my board, I was able to turn this into a $12,000 surplus by engaging new donors, responsible budget management, and by removing mission creep by focusing on the original vision of provided hot meals to those in need.

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In 2015, I ran into the president of the Revolutionary Trails Council at a social event.  The Council was going through some tough decisions about camping and was suffering in recruiting as well.  When I expressed my concern, he asked me what I was willing to do about it?  This led me to return to the profession in 2015, first as program director to coordinate consolidation of the camping program, then as Field Director after a merger with a neighboring council.  

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Outside of Scouting I enjoy camping, watching baseball and football,  and reading about history.  My kids call me a history nerd which may be true when one looks at my personal library.

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