I moved around a lot before settling here in Columbus, Ohio. I am originally from near Vancouver, Canada, went to high school in Salem, Oregon and did my BA at the University of British Columbia and University of Oregon. After graduating, I was a social worker in an immigrant service center in Portland, Oregon, working with migrant farmworkers and day laborers. In 1996, I moved to Oaxaca, Mexico to teach English. I did my MA in applied linguistics and taught English and at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca for 8 years before doing my PhD in Language & Literacy Education at the Arizona State University.
My wife Gaby and I have two sons, Soren and Gabo, and a daughter, Ita. We lived in San Antonio, Texas for 9 years before moving to Columbus in 2017. Fun facts about me:
- We have backyard chickens – I grew up on a small farm and want to instill in my children the sense of caring for animals and knowing where our food comes from.
- I’m an avid cyclist – I commute to OSU campus on my bike year-round, and in 2023 rode the Ohio-to-Erie trail from Cincinnati to Cleveland in 4 days, 326 miles total.
- I’m a competitive pickleball player – I’ve won several advanced-level tournaments.