I have spent my adult life and career working to help ensure that all kids receive a good education. I grew up in southern California and was raised by a single mom who taught my sister and me the importance of a good education. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Economics and Political Science, I began teaching 4th grade at Clarence A. Dickison Elementary School in Compton, California. On my first day teaching, I walked into a crumbling building, a class of 40 kids with 20 desks, no textbooks, and most of the students reading several years behind, if at all. But teaching that year, and the following three years I taught in Compton – in both fourth and fifth grade – was the best and hardest job I’ve ever had. For my work and the achievements of my students, I was awarded the 2001 National Disney Elementary Teacher of the Year.  

Seeing the neglect, the lack of resources and opportunities, and the huge disparities between the great public education I received and what kids in Compton experienced, transformed my life and led me to want to work to improve education for all kids. Instead of going to law school, as I had planned, I went to graduate school at Harvard, where I received a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Education. While in school, I also pursued an administrative credential and worked in the Boston Public Schools learning from, assisting, and sharing responsibilities with a remarkable principal of a unique elementary school for children with disabilities in South Boston. The school was the first in Boston to fully integrate special needs students into a general education classroom.

From Boston, I moved to Washington, DC and started in the office of the former U.S. Senate Majority and Minority Leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, working on a number of policy issues, but primarily on education. I gained a deep understanding of federal policy and helped draft and pass a number of key education bills, including legislation updating and expanding Head Start programs, the reauthorization of the then-No Child Left Behind Act, and bills to expand federal student aid, including historic increases in the Pell Grant and loan forgiveness for public school teachers.

After nearly a dozen years working in the Senate, my brilliant and talented wife, Karin, and I decided to move back to the west, to be closer to our families and raise our kids in a smaller community. We landed in Boulder in 2017, where Karin went to part of high school and college, and started building a new life here. The job I am most proud of is being a dad. Karin and I have three children, including a first and fourth grader at Creekside Elementary. Our third child is only two, but will keep us active and involved in the district until 2039!

After leaving the Senate, I founded Baseline Strategies to help non-profit and socially-responsible organizations develop and advance policy at the state and federal level. Among the highlights of my work has been working with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Education Law Center to develop strategies to help stop the spread of school voucher programs in states and helping to develop and lead a coalition of education and civil rights groups to address and get ahead of anti-equity legislation and proposals being introduced in school boards and state legislatures around the country. I am so grateful to be able to continue to work on important and impactful issues in education and stay involved in federal policy and legislation.

I have also served on the School Accountability Committee at Creekside since 2019, acting as Chair of the committee last school year. Through that work, I have been part of important conversations around school enrollment trends, assessment and culture data, and the new statewide early childhood education program. In 2020, I was also appointed by the Boulder City Council to a five-year term on the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, working with the department to build and maintain wonderful parks and community spaces across the city.

With four of the seven seats on the board open this fall, it is critical that we elect board members who have experience and are prepared for the challenging issues ahead. As a dad, a former teacher, and someone who has spent most of his professional life championing public education and working to help ensure that all kids get a good education, I believe I can help BVSD remain a strong district, continue the work to improve student achievement, and ensure that ALL students feel safe and welcome in our schools. I am excited for the opportunity to serve the Boulder Valley School District!