Working on my dissertation, fueled with coffee.

I work at the intersection🚦of learning, strategy, and creativity: somewhere between a piano bench 🎹 and a computer command line. 💻 My days bounce between learning tools, dashboards, critical theory, and a scribbled notebook that’s never far from reach. Writing, for me, is a form of thinking. 📝 = 💭

I grew up in small Midwestern towns 🌽, in a house where music🎵was a constant. My mom and grandmother both played piano, and my dad played guitar 🎸when he was younger. Music wasn’t performative but was just part of life, and I was never pressured into studying a particular topic. That openness made room for me to try everything: bassoon, cello, harpsichord, piano. I even tried Tae Kwon Do, earning a “temporary” black belt, though I skipped the final cement-block-breaking test, which, as a pianist today, I don’t regret.🥋👊

Fun Facts:
  • Preferred Sega Genesis over Super Nintendo.
  • First cassette was Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814.
  • Played soccer (goalkeeper) from middle school through undergrad.
Playing some musical pipes at Butler Metro Park in Austin.
I've never quite got the hang of being a morning person.

In the '90s 📼, I spent weekends building imaginary software companies in PowerPoint on our Packard Bell desktop. 💾 I just liked making systems, building stories, and tinkering with interfaces. I still do. I went on to study music deeply—eventually earning a PhD 🎓 in it—and today, I apply that same rigor and curiosity to my work in learning and enablement. I use data to design learning experiences that work in real life—not just on paper. While I think like a theorist, I act like a builder. 🔧

Fun Facts:
  • My dissertation is on Beethoven's Egmont Overture, the Dutch Beeldenstorms, and mixed reality.
  • I've lived all over: Indianapolis, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Buffalo, Austin.
  • My first job was installing RAM cartridges in public school computers.

🌠I believe learning should be serious without being stiff, structured without being suffocating. The best tools invite exploration and questioning. The best ideas get tested, rewritten, and sometimes tossed out. That’s the kind of space I try to create, no matter if I’m working with a team, designing a framework, or wrestling with a complicated text. 🌌

It's a rule to stop at the Strand when in New York.
Practicing cello in middle school.
Prepping for my Ph.D. defense, still fueled by coffee.

❤️ I have the most amazing wife and daughter, who put up with (really good, in my opinion!) Dad jokes, opera viewings way too early in the morning, and my need for "just one more book." ❤️ Our cats keep us company and make sure we're never bored. 🐱