Our Lady of Mount Carmel (93)
Seton Catholic HS (1997)
Regis University (2001)
Background: I am an Arizona native, having been born and raised in the East Valley. My parents moved here right before I was born from Michigan and Indiana. They both came from large families but moved to Arizona to start a life on their own. I attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tempe, and then Seton Catholic in Chandler. I was active in basketball and football and the Kairos Retreat program.
After graduating from Seton, I moved to Denver to attend Regis University. Regis offered small classes, a continued focus on catholic education, and great mountain views. I graduated with degrees in both Computer Science and Business Administration, but knew my education wasn’t finished. Following graduation, I moved to Boston to attend law school. It was here that I met my wife, tasted matzoh ball soup for the first time, saw the Red Sox break the Curse of the Bambino, and learned how to parallel park.
We let the U.S. government decide where we would start our married life, as I joined the military shortly after law school. After training in Alabama, we lived in Newport News, Virginia, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Having two small children with two working parents and no local family support began to take its toll, and so we headed west. I was able to re-establish connection with friends and family, and use my networks to start my own law practice.
What impact did Catholic schools have on you?
For me, Catholic school and the community that surrounds are a family. As an only child with parents whose extended families were across the country, Catholic schools provided the extended family that we did not have in Arizona. To this day, I have several lifelong friendships that started in early grade school, and continued through high school and beyond. Many of those friends now have their children in the same elementary and high schools that we went to together. Drop off, pick up, sporting and theater events often feel like a class reunion.
Accomplishments:
I served as a Judge Advocate on active duty for four and a half years, including a tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq, working detainee operations.
After leaving active duty, I continued my service at Luke AFB in the reserves and am currently serving as the Staff Judge Advocate for the 161st Air Refueling Wing, an Arizona Air National Guard unit. Additionally, I run my own law practice focusing on estate planning and end-of-life issues.
Future plans:
I plan to continue to be active in my military, local, and catholic school communities, cheer loudly and embarrassingly for my kids at their sporting events, and spend more time in places where I can see the ocean.
