Growing up in Indiana, my family prioritized both education, and a sense of duty to our community. As an Eagle Scout, I was taught to preserve the fundamental values of discipline, accountability, and perseverance that offer each individual the chance to achieve to their fullest potential. I was able to pursue my dream of studying music at the University of Michigan, where I met my wife, and then to earn two master’s degrees from UW-Madison and Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) in music and landscape architecture, respectively.

 

Like many young parents with reverence for our own educational opportunities, my wife and I moved to Glendale after several years in Highland Park because of the exceptional reputation of Glendale Unified Schools. We purchased our first home here with the vision of walking the kids to our neighborhood school, Valley View Elementary,  in the years to come. It was never my aspiration to seek elected office, however as I became increasingly aware of the issues facing public schools in our state, I began to look into whether our own Glendale schools were affected, and found myself connecting with many other concerned parents seeking transparency and accountability. 

 

At my job as a Landscape Architectural Associate for Los Angeles City, where I plan-check and permit planting and irrigation improvements at the Los Angeles World Airport (LAX), I am relied on for my attention to detail and diligence in seeing complex projects through to completion. These are the same qualities that I will apply on the school board, along with my sense of duty and investment in the future as the father of 2 young boys. It is not acceptable to me to allow our schools to slide downward to new “standards” that fail to produce improved outcomes, or to spend our tax dollars on initiatives that do not honestly support our teachers’ and students’ highest practical needs.

 

I am willing to ask tough questions, do deeper research, and advocate for a future of Glendale Unified schools that we can trust. I believe that it’s the obligation of public education representatives to strive for an ideologically neutral environment in our schools, and to lead the efforts to prioritize time, incentives, and funding toward the academic growth and achievement of our children.  As your school board official, I would be honored to work alongside educators, administration, and parents to recover that delicate balance.