About Me
I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, became a kid in Gambrills, Maryland, and grew up in Springfield, Missouri after my family moved here when I was seven. My wife and I met in college here in Springfield, and we've made it our home where we're now raising our three boys—ages 7, 5, and 3.
Our life revolves around being present for what matters most. We spend a lot of time outside playing and hiking, enjoy video games together on weekends, and read every evening—especially comic books, which the boys absolutely love. These moments remind me daily why the work I do with leaders matters: helping them create boundaries so they can be fully present for their families and teams.
The Early Years
Growing up on the north side of Springfield, I spent long summer days in the woods, biking to the creek, and mostly keeping to myself. School was tough—I was bored and bullied, and after my parents divorced, I often stole food just to get by.
During those same years, I experienced profound loss. By my eighteenth birthday, I had experienced nearly two dozen deaths—friends and family lost to car accidents, drug overdoses, suicide, and cancer. The hardest was losing my niece Lynette when I was fifteen, killed in a car accident. These losses taught me firsthand how difficult it is to show up and function while experiencing grief.
I know what it feels like to be overlooked and struggling, and those formative years created the drive and discipline that still fuel my work today. They also sparked something else: a deep desire to ensure others don't face the same struggles alone, and to help create environments where people feel seen, heard, and supported.
Learning Leadership the Hard Way
When I went to college, I studied religion and poetry because we were told it didn't matter what your degree was in, so long as you had one. While that wasn't exactly true, that liberal arts education served me well. Reading large amounts of text quickly, thinking critically, synthesizing complex information, and communicating ideas as simply and clearly as possible has been a boon working with software development companies and teams.
Over the years, I found myself in technology leadership roles, promoted because I was good at the technical work. Like most people thrust into leadership positions, I had no formal training, and I focused on strategy, planning, and execution—all the things that had made me successful as an individual contributor.
But I also cared deeply about my team members, which motivated me to keep learning and growing as a leader.
My Approach Today
My leadership philosophy comes from trying to lead like Jesus did: serving people, respecting their inherent dignity, and helping them grow. Through speech and debate in high school, a lot of reading during college, and later through shows like "The Good Place," I discovered ethical frameworks that translated this faith perspective into practical principles: that actions must be right in themselves, and that every decision must be justifiable to anyone affected by it.
I also believe in modeling mental health practices openly. I'm transparent with my teams about visiting with a counselor, and I encourage them to prioritize their mental health as well. Part of why I became certified as a grief counselor and offer grief coaching is because many counselors, while wonderful and tremendously helpful, aren't specifically trained in grief. And grief takes many forms; not just the loss of a loved one, but also losing a job, a pet, moving homes and losing your community, or losing prized possessions.
I do this work because I love helping people work better together. When I see a team move from dysfunction to collaboration, or watch a leader discover they can actually go home at 5 PM and still deliver great results, that genuinely delights me.
I want leaders to stop struggling through challenges alone and start creating environments where their people can do their best work. At the end of the day, that's what this is all about: helping leaders become the kind of people others want to work for, and making work a place where people can thrive instead of just survive.
For detailed work history and professional experience, visit my portfolio site or LinkedIn profile. This gives you a sense of who I am, what shaped my approach to leadership development, and how I think about working with people and organizations.
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© 2025 Fieldway - All Rights Reserved
Springfield, Missouri, USA
Springfield, Missouri, USA
© 2025 Fieldway - All Rights Reserved