Biography

I was born and raised on a family ranch 14 miles outside of Sheridan, WY. After finishing high school, I attended technical school and worked as a computer aided draftsman for 4 years. During this timeframe (1991), I enlisted in the WY Army National Guard. In 1995, I went full time military with the US Army National Guard Active Guard Reserve (AGR) program. As an AGR I was assigned to many different types of units, throughout the state of Wyoming, and obtained five Military Occupational Specialty ratings as I moved through the ranks from Private all the way up to Sergeant Major. During my military career I visited all 50 states, 10 different countries, and 4 different continents. I retired with just shy of 23 years of service in 2014 and joined my wife in Nome, AK, where she had been teaching 6th Grade at Nome Elementary School for the previous year.

 

I spent my first two years with Nome Public Schools as a Military Science instructor for the Nanook Battalion, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. When the School Board closed the JROTC program in 2016, there was personnel movement in the Technology Department. I leverage the computer and networking experience I had gained as a CAD programmer as well as in the military. I applied for and was selected as the IT Systems Administrator. As the Systems Administrator, I improved the use of Mobile Device Management and Web Filtering solutions to streamline capabilities and conserve bandwidth as we increased from 10 total carts of shared devices (approx 250) to 1:1 device deployment across the district (in excess of 700 devices).

 

After serving in the IT SysAdmin position for 3 years, more personnel movement occured in the Tech Dept. I applied for and was selected as the Director of Technology. Serving as the Director of Technology since July of 2019, I continue to improve the district's technology capabilities through the use of multiple device platforms (WinOS, macOS, iPadOS, ChromeOS), have established an accurate and functional 10 year budget, dramatically increasing network capabilities, conducted the installation of various security systems, and aligning the district to cyber security best practices.

 

I have been married to my beautiful wife Jennifer for over 30 years.  We have three adult sons, one in Ohio, one in Wyoming, and one in Alaska. We also have three grandchildren.  We love to spend our "off" time visiting our family, both in Alaska and the lower 48, or just enjoying the outdoors.