I moved to St. Paul in 2010 because I liked the Midwestern, yet diverse, feel of the city. I bought a house in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood because I wanted my children to live and go to school in a diverse multilingual community. I work for SPPS because I strongly believe that through strong public schools we can help build strong communities in which my children and my students can learn, grow, and reach their full potential.

This was the pitch I originally made to St. Paul when I was first hired. In the intervening years this belief has only been strengthened. I have found that the homes and communities our students live in greatly impact their academic, social, and behavioral success or failure at school. I have had the opportunity to sit down with families at extended IEP and Evaluation meetings and discuss some of the most difficult aspects of school and home life. I have been able to coach teachers on more equitable instructional strategies, and worked with them to unpack how their own racial perspectives impact their instruction in the classroom. The conversations and experiences I have shared with teachers, students, and families have led me to know that as a white male I must lead from a position of vulnerability. I must be willing to experience discomfort and seek out the perspective of a diverse community to understand, unpack, and dismantle the systems of systemic racism that impact the students and families of SPPS.  I have a strong desire to build up the staff of SPPS to help dismantle systemic racism and successfully build the relationships essential for effective instruction within the classroom. 

I wish to help build up SPPS and its teachers to better understand our students and to increase their ability to better advocate for their own academic and cultural needs within the classroom and community. St. Paul and SPPS are my home, they are where I live and work, they are where my children play, grow and go to school, and I want to be part of leading them into a better, more equitable future.