About Me
My background
I grew up in Virginia near Washington DC where I supported myself through a variety of jobs from bartender to EMT and volunteer firefighter as well as a medical technician for an AIDS clinic in the capitol. I enjoyed the variety of opportunities I had before me, so I took advantage of as many as I could. I earned degrees in Business and Japanese Studies, pre-med Biology, and Environmental Science, while completing research for my thesis at the USDA Agricultural Research Center. I also taught Plant Biology and Soil Science at the University of Maryland.
I moved to Texas in 1999, where I was hired by Galveston County to work as a Water Pollution Control Specialist. I soon began teaching high school chemisty and returned to school myself to receive a second Master's Degree from U of H and then a PhD from UTMB
After Hurricane Ike, I began teaching full-time at San Jacinto College to support myself and my daughter as a single dad. There I taught Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology. I also taught Toxicology and Cell Biology at Texas A&M University, Galveston while working on my post-doctoral fellowship.
I'm currently teaching at Galveston College and Ball High School, where I teach Dual Credit Environmental Science and Biology. I have a total of over 25 years teaching experience and am an active member of my community. I am former congressional liason to Randy Weber for the Citizens Climate Lobby. In my spare time, I like to surf and scuba dive, listen to live music and ride my Harley.
Education
James Madison University, Bachelors in International Business and Japanese Studies. After becoming certified and working as an EMT, I became interested in medicine and returned to school in a pre-med program, earning a second bachelors in pre-med biology from George Mason University. A career path opened up in the environmental field and I ended up returning to school to earn my Master's Degree from the University of Maryland in Environmental Science. Living in D.C. afforded me the opportunity to do research for the USDA Agricultural Research Center where I completed my Master's Thesis on Forest Ecology.
After moving to Galveston, TX in the late 90's, while working in the science field, I enrolled in a secondary science education program at the University of Housston where I earned a second Master's Degree. I decided to return to research and entered UTMB's Biomedical Science graduate program and earned my PhD in Biomedical Research which a focus on Environmental Toxicology. I did a post-doctoral fellowship on genetic analysis of RSV infection in children.