I was born and raised in Spokane, WA, where I spent many years during high school and college working part time at a plant nursery. My secondary education combines a mixture of machine shop studies, natural resources, general studies and one year in criminal justice at EWU and the Law Enforcement academy.
In the summer of 1983, I was hired as a park aide at the Liberty Lake Regional Park with Spokane County. In 1986 I was hired as a park aide at Riverside State Park in Spokane, and after being introduced to the Park Ranger position I was hooked. The winter of 1987, I attended the Parks Law Enforcement academy in Everett, WA, a requirement to become a Ranger. Following the academy, I landed a seasonal Park Ranger position with the National Park Service and spent the next 3 years working on the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area as a Law Enforcement Ranger.
In 1990, I returned to Washington State Parks at Riverside State Park as a Park Ranger and in the spring of 2004, I was promoted to the Park Manager of Sun Lakes / Dry Falls State Park. In 2012, I became the Area Manager of the Coulee Corridor Area State Parks where I became involved with the Coulee Corridor Consortium (Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway group). I also became involved with the Lower Grand Coulee Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI), where I currently serve as the president of the Chapter. This May will mark 18 years for me in the Coulee Corridor Area State Parks and I still love going to work every day.
I married my beautiful wife Carrie, a Home Healthcare Aide in 1988, and we have 2 adult children, Christine, 29, and Katie, 27. I also stay busy as a volunteer firefighter for Grant County Fire District 7 and am active as the Vice President and Chief Shop Steward of our Parks Statewide Local Union.