About Me

I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Guatemala as part of an American family that worked in Guatemala. It’s a country that is rich in history, varied but connected subcultures, and a powerful history of innovation, suffering, resilience, and rich traditions. My life was been impacted heavily by those years. I learned to appreciate simple things, see the beauty in simplicity, and not take things for granted that are commonplace in other countries. I also learned that the struggles we have as people are universal, they just look different and have different names.

The second most influential time in my life was working in psychiatric hospitals for parts of seven years. I was witness to profound suffering and realized hope. It is an awkward thing to gain insight from people have lost so much. Some of what I observed were horrifying (no exaggeration) and some bring joy to me to this day.

I’ve spent quite a few years in various technical roles, with 2/3 of the time being spent in leadership. I have learned so much from the people I have been privileged to lead. It covers large-scale projects, business intelligence, data science, healthcare IT, and other enterprise systems. Unless you plan to humbly serve your people and your org, I do not recommend choosing leadership as a discipline.

I live in Memphis, am married to a brilliant and kind woman, and have four kids I adore. I am intense, take life seriously, but try to not take myself seriously. I have a dark sense of humor that rarely finds a floor. I am a realist but underneath the ability to assess things with accuracy and effectively tackle complex dysfunction and challenges, is optimism and hope.

Writing is challenging, tedious, frustrating and sometimes exhausting, but is my favorite pursuit.