I grew up on the other side of the Columbia River, where I graduated from David Douglas High School. After a brief "stop" in Iowa, where I played a year of college football, I returned back to the Northwest finished my degree at Concordia University in Portland. I went on to Ohio University and earned my Master's degree in history. I was fortunate to receive a fellowship from the Contemporary History Institute. In the middle of the time in Ohio, I married my beautiful wife, Deborah, who I met while attending Concordia.

After completing my Master's, I accepted a position on a contract as a historian for the US Army's Combat Studies Institute, located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. I authored several studies on historical topics with lessons that could be applied today. After completing a study on the history of unmanned aerial systems, I had the opportunity to travel to the United Arab Emirates and present my research at a several regional defense conferences.

After moving back to the Pacific NW in 2009, I began working in real estate, selling nearly $3 million dollars in my first full year of business, despite challenging market conditions. My wife and I live in East Vancouver and are expecting our first baby in September! We enjoy traveling and watching sports together, although we have different teams in just about every sport. We also like to cook and entertain. I make pretty on the barbecue, and I hope to compete in some local barbecue competitions at some point.