COMMUNITY - my wife and I are not from Minnesota, so we had to build a family around us once we got here. The first step we took once we landed in St. Anthony was launching Friday Night Meatballs at our house. The concept is simple - boil pasta, have some meatballs and sauce in a crockpot and tell people they only need to show up - come as you are, bring something if you want - we’ll be here. And the house started to fill up week after week as we met more families in town. Some nights we had upwards of fifty people crammed into our 1960s split-level (and half were kids seven & under scrambling all around!). Those connections we made during our earliest days here still matter today.

When I was on the SANBE Foundation, I chaired the SAV for the Future annual fundraising gala and we were on a roll, attendance was building and the night was one big celebration to raise money for grants for teachers. After pausing a year for Covid in ‘21, I could sense we weren’t all ready to be in a crowded room yet, but we needed to get together again and in 2022 I said let’s do it outside and the Soiree was born. These events continue and have raised over a hundred thousand dollars for grants for our teachers

We live in a special place. I love this community and have been dedicated to serving it since I arrived.

COLLABORATION - We use “the three Rs” to describe our approach in St Anthony-New Brighton schools - Rigor, Relevance & Relationships - and I’ve always maintained that should be flipped. Relationships, Relevance & Rigor. Too often we’re stuck in an us vs them mentality - when it’s really all of us vs the problems we face. Nationwide, enrollment in public schools is decreasing, test scores have fallen, there is a shortage of teachers and the ones we have feel weighed down - turning the ship is a task that can feel insurmountable. But not if we put our heads together. If we roll up our sleeves, set our egos aside and commit to the work - our schools can be a shining light. We can be a model for innovative teaching, a place where teachers feel rewarded for the work they do and we can see the course of student outcomes start to turn, rise up and we can get our kids to the place they need to be and beyond.

It’s a journey we must travel together, not everyone will agree on the best path forward, not everyone will be happy all the time along the way (it’s like any family road trip!) - but we know we agree on the destination and that’s been my guiding light through many of our recent challenges - we all believe in the end result. And if we keep at it, cards face up on the table, I believe we’re good enough together to figure this out. 

DATA - in the end the numbers don’t lie. Test scores show we’re failing to get all of our kids to the place they need to be. I’ve spent my career in finance and accounting so I live in numbers and believe they’re an important and necessary measure of how our strategies and efforts are paying off. The success metrics the district uses aren’t simply flowery language, underneath them is measurable data and only by recurring, honest, consistent evaluation of this data can we get better. We need to have a continuous cycle of studying the research, determining the right fit for our schools, strategizing and implementing with fidelity so we can honestly assess our approach, examine the results, and then refine our strategies to get to our goals. 

EDUCATION EXPERIENCE - I’ve served on the St Anthony-New Brighton School Board for four years, but the road that led me there started the fall we arrived in 2014. I began my immersion in St Anthony programs in ECFE when my kids were 3 and 1. They went to preschool at the Community Center, where I served as a volunteer in the Early Childhood Advisory Committee, leading efforts such as the annual Fall Carnival and getting to know the teachers and staff in our amazing early education programs. As my kids attended Wilshire Park, I was a regular volunteer in their classrooms, helping with reading and math. When the schools were facing challenges with a substitute teacher shortage, even though I had never taught a classroom of kids, I got my substitute teaching license and jumped in wherever I was needed - as a classroom and para sub (because I understood the benefit a para is to both the teachers and the students). Those classroom experiences, though not comparable to a full time teacher, gave me a view of the challenges they face educating a classroom of diverse learning styles, backgrounds, and personalities.

My experience on the school board has been one of growth and development as the scope of the work is wide-ranging. Understanding the broad challenges a district must maneuver is one that takes years to fully comprehend (and even then, there is always something new). The term I’m seeking is a short one and with four years under my belt, I’m ready on day one to hit the ground running. 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE - as I mentioned, my professional background is in business, I have a Masters in Accounting and a broad background across a number of industries, with companies large and small. During my career, I’ve refined my ability to comprehend complex issues, manage teams, work with diverse perspectives and balance priorities to both address short-term challenges and stay on target for longer goals. I’m currently in a senior position at a small company, meaning I have to keep long term vision in mind as we navigate the day to day work in front of us. I believe this experience, while not directly in education, transfers well to the work required of a school board member and is a complimentary to the composition of what the St Anthony-New Brighton school board will be as it enters 2026, as boards are most effective when they’re comprised of a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. 

Thank you for taking the time to engage and learn about my background - I do love our Village and I know all too well we have to put the time and work in to take care of it.