Who am I?

Hi there, I’m a farmer in Berrien County who is married to Molly, for 22 years, and we have three sons, Beckett, Russell, and Casey. We moved to Buchanan ten years ago to follow our dreams of the country and have enjoyed building a regenerative farm with livestock and a creamery from the ground up. Before this life change, I was a high school teacher in Chicago Public Schools for about a decade, helping to improve the communities and students I dedicated my life to. I’m inspired by Michigan to serve it as well and lead the charge toward a bright future.

Growing Up

Well, if you moved onto the second paragraph, that means you want to know a little more about me. Thanks! I grew up in Illinois with my parents and sister, and also met my wife in high school, so I’ve grown up with her as well. My dad was a firefighter, paramedic, in the Coast Guard, and a small business owner. My mother was in nursing and worked with a non-profit organization that worked with people with special needs. My sister and her family lived and worked in Chicago for awhile, though have recently moved to England.

Schooling and Education

I attended Marquette University, not really sure about what to study, but knew I enjoyed reading. I took as many philosophy and English classes as I could, and triple majored in History of Philosophy, Social Philosophy, and English. More importantly, I had formative experiences outside the classroom volunteering with community education programs and working on apartments for a local landlord. These inspired my passions for education and working with my hands, Not necessarily at the same, but it’s good to have hobbies.

Adventures

If you are still with me, you really are a champ. I wanted adventure, travel, and to teach, so I moved to South Korea after graduation and became an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Thankfully, my girlfriend at the time (Molly) was very understanding and waited to meet up with me after a year of teaching, and we were able to travel a bit. Also thankfully, we made it through a crash course of a long distant relationship, traveling extensively through Asia, and then moving back to Chicago together to get married and raise a family.

Wife and I

Molly, my wife, is a trained chef and has worked for the same employer for the past twenty three years. We were living on the South Side of Chicago, I was teaching, she was cooking, and wanted to rehab an old home together. We did that amidst starting a family, crafting projects together, and road trips during the summer. I obtained my Masters in Teaching and became a National Board Certified Teacher. Her employer wanted to start a farm in Southwest Michigan and asked us to partner with her. Despite our lack of knowledge and experience, we make up for it in perseverance and a love for diving into new tough work. This seems to be a good formula for farmers, and we’ve done quite a bit to raise a variety of livestock, grow produce and flowers, and make cheese.

Volunteering and Hobbies

There’s no way anyone is still reading this at this point, but I’ll throw in some more just in case you’ve got nowhere else to be right now. My wife and I enjoy the change of seasons and how are job changes throughout the year. We enjoy the productivity of long summer days on the farm, but also the quiet and a little more rest of the winter. This year, I used my easier winter schedule to build a sugar shack by myself, to process maple syrup and have a place to process firewood. That’s my idea of a good time. Also we like to play games, watch movies, and just hang with our kids and family. I volunteered at their schools and through 4-H for some years, and now volunteer my time as a chair for the Berrien County Democratic Party and the Michigan Rural Caucus. The pandemic taught me that while it’s easy to turn in and do right by the closest people around you, once you have that, it is much better to serve the greater community. The best spots to dedicate yourself are sometimes the places and systems you think need the most work. I would like to help serve Michigan in the only ways I know how: working hard and honestly, and willing to listen to others.

We Can Do This

It can get frustrating living in a 24 hour news cycle where so much doom and gloom can rise to the top of what is happening in this world. I think this promotes cynicism, fear, and apathy, three things I try to avoid when making decisions in my own life. I believe I can be an agent of change for Michigan, and make sure the important issues get solved, locally and statewide. Thank you for taking the time to read my bio and thoughts, and I hope we can meet and you’ll support me for the Michigan State Legislature.