I was born February 8th, 1983 in Glens Falls, New York; a city whose name is attributed to a nearby waterfall in the Hudson River at the southern end of the city. I stayed there with my mother until she graduated and we moved to Denver, Colorado. Though I also lived in Las Vegas, I spent most of my youth in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I went to St. Joseph Elementary and Northrop High School. My mother, Debbie, and my sister, Amanda, currently reside in Ft. Wayne. My mother is a Supplier Recovery Warranty Specialist at International Navistar Corporation. My sister, Amanda is an educator. While I’ve spent much of my life growing up in Colorado, Nevada and Indiana, I returned to New York to finish my tertiary education and begin my life as a young professional.

Growing up in Ft. Wayne, I had several circles of friends; some of which I played baseball with at the local diamonds for a youth league, others were friends I played music with in our high school orchestra. In my late teens, I took an interest in the military after one of my best friends joined the Army. The allure of getting out on my own, seeing the world, and serving my country made short work for my recruiter. I joined the Army as an Ordinance Engineer at 17 years old. I had to convince my mother to sign a consent form because I was too young to join on my own.

Shortly after my high school graduation, I went to Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I returned to Indiana after my graduation from my Individual Training assignment to start my college education. However, my studies were put on hold when I was called to serve in Iraq. I was deployed for 498 days without leave. Upon my return, I continued my education at Indiana University where I studied International Relations and Russian.

In 2005, I provided emergency relief to the Red Cross in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. There, I helped prepare and distribute meals and supplies to in-need locals. After I graduated from Indiana University, I moved to back New York—this time, to New York City—to begin graduate school.

I graduated with a Masters of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and currently work as an advisor and consultant in foreign media and government relations.