About Me
I've lived in New Boston since 2016, with my wife (Katie), our two daughters, Kaylin (age 12) and Emmie (age 9), and our three crazy dogs (Sweet Dee, Frankie, and Mac). Both of my kids attended NBCS (one still is, and one is now at MVMS), my wife serves on the town's Recreation Commission, and we're members of the Community Church of New Boston. If you were lucky enough to have a 'birthday parade' come by your house during the covid shutdowns, my wife Katie was the one who organized the parades, and I was driving the big red pickup truck at the front of the line. You'll see our family helping at a lot of the Recreation events like S'mores with Santa, Fire and Ice, and the Easter events. Our family loves New Boston, and we look forward to living here for many years to come.
New Boston reminds me of where I grew up: a small, rural town in New England (Wallingford, VT). I was raised in an old farmhouse, similar to the one I live in now. My parents worked for the State and Federal government: my mother as a state tax auditor, and my father as a letter carrier at the Rutland VT post office. I attended public schools from K-12, with my elementary school similar in size to NBCS, and my high school was slightly smaller than GHS. As such, I'm familiar with the challenges (and opportunities) that small, rural, public schools face, and I want to help the New Boston School Board address these issues in an impactful and responsible way.
After high school, I attended Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), earning a degree in Business Administration: Management Information Systems, which is a fancy way to say I studied business and computers. After a couple of years working at the Pentagon as a management analyst for the Department of Defense, I felt a calling to become an educator, and so I returned to school to earn a MA and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from University at Albany, SUNY. I am also currently pursing a Master's degree in Labor Studies at UMass Amherst.
Presently, I am a Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies at UMass Lowell, and as such, I am both an educator and a published social science researcher. I typically teach courses about research methods and criminological theory, and I mentor both undergraduate and graduate students in their research projects and theses. I am very comfortable with statistics, spreadsheets, and datasets, and have designed, conducted, and published numerous research projects involving the efficacy of public policies and the influence of public perceptions, albeit typically relating to crime and public safety. Dealing with data and statistics is a huge part of my job, including when I'm: a) teaching my students how to spot bad statistics, poorly designed research studies, and outright fake or biased data, b) designing, conducting, and publishing my own studies, and c) scientifically evaluating ("peer reviewing") the research of others. Finally, as my union's former Grievance Officer, and current President, I am very familiar with issues involving education-based contracts and bargaining, and conflicts between faculty and administration. I have also served the NBCS in contract negotiations with the teachers and the support staff, and have also served on the NBCS policy committee. If reelected by the voters of New Boston, I will continue to bring all of this experience and expertise to my role on the New Boston School Board.