About me

I was was born in Salinas, California and moved to Oregon in 1980 with my family.  A year prior my uncle moved from Salinas to become a vegetable farmer in Aurora, OR which is still strange to me because the Salinas Valley is great for farming.  Anyway, we moved to Aurora to help my aunt and uncle with their farm.  It was a big change from sun to rain and snow, but over the years have gotten used it.  I graduated from North Marion High in Aurora with a class of about 75.  I decided to stick around my parents house while I went to Portland Community College to get my A.A Oregon Transfer degree.  I then decided to venture out and move to Ashland where I would eventually get my B.S. in Psychology in 1998.

After college my main goal was to be a counselor, but I had to pay the bills so I became a waiter at the Olive Garden (still love it!).  After several months I found a job at St. Mary's Home for Boys in Beaverton, OR.  I counseled troubled youth in a residential setting for about 3 years.  It was a very rewarding job and would have loved to stay, but the pay was minimal.  I met my wife at the facility (fellow counselor) which was interesting because we had to keep it a secret from the boys and staff.  At the end of our tenure at the job we became engaged (the staff only knew at that point).  I needed to make more money to support our family so I began a job in sales, little did I know I would be stuck in sales for about 12 years.  From retail, call centers, insurance agent, and phone sales I was never truly happy.  I wanted something more and I always enjoyed working with children, through counseling, volunteering at church.  I am excited to be in this program and have a strong passion for teaching our youth.  I also would love to be a coach at some level, either baseball or tennis.

My wife and I have been married for 11 years next month and we have 2 wonderful boys, 6 years and 2 months.  We reside in Beaverton, OR and just spend a lot of time together.  I enjoy the outdoors and spending time with friends and family.  I look forward to this new challenge and am excited for what the future holds for my and my family!