About Me..
Hello Saint Paul of the Cross! I just moved here from Scottsdale, AZ where I have lived for the past 30 years. Previously, I worked for the past 22 years at Saint John XXIII in Scottsdale, AZ where I held many hats since it opened in 1999. I was a substitute teacher and room parent the first two years, Teacher Aide in 2000, 6th grade teacher in 2001, 7th and 8th grade science teacher in 2006 and STEM Teacher/STEM Integration Specialist since 2015.
I was originally born in the Chicago suburbs (Berwyn), I have lived in quite a few places since then; Lisle, Michigan, back to Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Back to Chicago, Pennsylvania, Phoenix and now Park Ridge.
I received my Bachelors of Arts in Film/Video production, with an emphasis in animation special effects from Columbia College. In my earlier life... I was an animation cameraman/ optical printer, animation director, inker, painter and film editor. (The company I worked for won an Academy Award for Technological Achievement in Film) I worked on feature films, TV promos for Disney, commercials, documentary films and children's videos such as Gymboree and Videosmarts. I won a Copperwing Award at the Phoenix Film Festival in 2005 for "Best Educational Film" and my students got to meet Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick. (I am now 1 degree from Kevin Bacon.)
After enjoying working on children's educational videos, I decided to get into education where I received my Masters in Elementary Education from ASU. I also have my middle school endorsement, and completed the Doctoral Ed.D. program at Arizona State University studying Education Leadership and Innovation . My dissertation was on the effects of didactic movie making on students 21st century learning skills and science content in the middle school classroom.
I was an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University and a STEM board member of AZTea (Arizona Affiliate of ISTE International Society for Technology in Education).
I was 1 of 20 teachers on the Arizona Teacher Solutions Team with the AZK12 center and Center for Teaching Quality. As a member of this Teacher Leader Team, we were trying to further educational leadership in Arizona. Here is a what we have accomplished so far.
Teaching 2030
In 2017 I finished a 3 year fellowship with the University of Notre Dame Trustey STEM Fellowship. I am still continuing our Relationship with Notre Dame and many other teachers from around the country who have graduated from the Program. In 2019-2020 I had a residency with the University of Notre Dame for collaborating with professors in emerging technology in artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, biometric application, and Social Data gathering.
My wife and I have two children. One is a graduate from Marquette University working as a Environmental Engineer and my older daughter is an IT Patient Healthcare, an Assistant Soccer Coach for Arcadia University in Glenside, PA and was on America Ninja Warrior. (Both are alumni from Saint John and my oldest was in the first Kindergarten class.) I received the Qwest / AzTEA Teaching Award, Best Buy Teacher Award and the 2014 National Most Distinguished Teacher Award from the the NCEA (National Catholic Education Association). My current life as a teacher is fulfilling! and Wonderful! I enjoy teaching and seeing the students excel in STEM/STREAM.
ASU Article Qwest Grant ASU Article ND Trustey STEM Fellowship
I was originally born in the Chicago suburbs (Berwyn), I have lived in quite a few places since then; Lisle, Michigan, back to Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Back to Chicago, Pennsylvania, Phoenix and now Park Ridge.
I received my Bachelors of Arts in Film/Video production, with an emphasis in animation special effects from Columbia College. In my earlier life... I was an animation cameraman/ optical printer, animation director, inker, painter and film editor. (The company I worked for won an Academy Award for Technological Achievement in Film) I worked on feature films, TV promos for Disney, commercials, documentary films and children's videos such as Gymboree and Videosmarts. I won a Copperwing Award at the Phoenix Film Festival in 2005 for "Best Educational Film" and my students got to meet Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick. (I am now 1 degree from Kevin Bacon.)
After enjoying working on children's educational videos, I decided to get into education where I received my Masters in Elementary Education from ASU. I also have my middle school endorsement, and completed the Doctoral Ed.D. program at Arizona State University studying Education Leadership and Innovation . My dissertation was on the effects of didactic movie making on students 21st century learning skills and science content in the middle school classroom.
I was an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University and a STEM board member of AZTea (Arizona Affiliate of ISTE International Society for Technology in Education).
I was 1 of 20 teachers on the Arizona Teacher Solutions Team with the AZK12 center and Center for Teaching Quality. As a member of this Teacher Leader Team, we were trying to further educational leadership in Arizona. Here is a what we have accomplished so far.
Teaching 2030
In 2017 I finished a 3 year fellowship with the University of Notre Dame Trustey STEM Fellowship. I am still continuing our Relationship with Notre Dame and many other teachers from around the country who have graduated from the Program. In 2019-2020 I had a residency with the University of Notre Dame for collaborating with professors in emerging technology in artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, biometric application, and Social Data gathering.
My wife and I have two children. One is a graduate from Marquette University working as a Environmental Engineer and my older daughter is an IT Patient Healthcare, an Assistant Soccer Coach for Arcadia University in Glenside, PA and was on America Ninja Warrior. (Both are alumni from Saint John and my oldest was in the first Kindergarten class.) I received the Qwest / AzTEA Teaching Award, Best Buy Teacher Award and the 2014 National Most Distinguished Teacher Award from the the NCEA (National Catholic Education Association). My current life as a teacher is fulfilling! and Wonderful! I enjoy teaching and seeing the students excel in STEM/STREAM.
ASU Article Qwest Grant ASU Article ND Trustey STEM Fellowship