I am a first-year MBA student at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. I previously worked in operations consulting in the hospitality and leisure travel industries. My strongest professional skills are in managing client/stakeholder relationships and leading teams across functions to find and implement operational improvements in large organizations in the private and non-profit sectors.

I hold a BA in Russian from Knox College, the liberal arts school that put the “Dr.” in Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA. Before Knox, I attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, a residential, public magnet school in the suburbs of Chicago.

I’ve been married to a brilliant and beautiful woman for five years. Sue and I met standing next to each other in choir in high school (her: soprano, me: tenor) and married just after college. After completing a degree in music at Knox, she graduated from the JD/LLM program in international and comparative law at Duke Law. Did I mention brilliant?

Food is a passion of mine (which is unfortunate for my waistline). Desserts are really my thing — I’m flambéeing bananas for a bread in the photo above — though I’ll try my hand at anything. The best meal I’ve ever cooked included buffalo sirloin with a Yuengling sauce. Mmm…

I’m also a huge minor league soccer fan. I took the photo above before bailing on a game to go have a beer with a friend, away from the rain. The RailHawks subsequently lost. Learned not to be such a fairweather fan that day!

I’m originally from a little state called Illinois. (Maybe you’ve heard of it — the President is from there.) I spent most of my first quarter-century there, growing up in Southern Illinois, going to high school in the suburbs of Chicago, and going to college in the western part of the state. I became a fan of the Chicago Cubs early on, much to the chagrin of my Little Egypt compatriots. I now live in North Carolina, one of the most beautiful states in the Union, and see the white stuff in the photo on the right only rarely. It’s still beautiful here when it snows, though, as you can see.

My faith is central to my life. I’m lucky to have a wonderful, supportive community in Durham to share that journey with. If I’m not at home or work, chances are good that I’m there, sharing in work, worship, or play. Religious life is a source of tremendous joy for me.