I spent several formative years growing up right on Grand Avenue in Franklin Park.  Pinching pennies out of parking meters and roaming the alleys looking for small-person adventure, my journey to Leyden got an early start. However, my family moved out to the Northwest Suburbs, and I eventually headed to Michigan to earn a B.A. at Calvin College in 1991.  After several years of substitute teaching, inner-city gardening, and working as a private eye, I started at Leyden in 1994.

I currently teach American Literature and Creative Writing. I also coach Leyden’s Scholastic Bowl Team and am assistant coach for Leyden's Varsity Boys Volleyball.