Once my family settled in West Orange County, my moving days were over. After graduation, I attended Valencia and UCF and have put down roots in West Orange County for the past 48 years.

While attending Valencia, I started dating my future wife Sandi, another 1979 WOHS graduate and we have been married for 42 years.  She also taught in Orange County Public Schools for 35 years. 

She and I have one daughter, Jennifer, who is also a West Orange graduate. She then graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering and has been with Mars, Incorporated for the past nine years and living her best life in Jersey City across the river from Manhattan with her wife Sarah. 

When I started school at Valencia, I took a job at West Orange County Club as a cart boy. Over the next four years, I did just about every job you could do at a small country club, and through an unusual series of events I became the General Manager.

In 1984 I joined the faculty at Westside Vo-Tech, now known as Orange Technical College-West Campus. That was the beginning of my career in education.

Prior to retirement, I spent 36 years with Orange County Public Schools serving as a teacher, athletic coach, assistant principal, principal, Associate Superintendent for Career and Technical Education and finally as the Deputy Superintendent. 

During my time as a principal, I served three high schools, with populations varying from 2700-4400 students.

I had the opportunity to serve my alma mater, West Orange High School, then build and open, Ocoee High School; and finish my tenure as principal at University High School. No matter the school, all parents wanted the same thing for their children – the best education possible provided by dedicated teachers and staff. 

All students want the same thing as well, people who genuinely care about them. I learned that building that kind of culture, where the student is the most important person on the campus and the reason we are there, makes all the difference in the world. That lesson stayed with me and guided my daily decisions.

I strongly believe that education requires the collaboration of all vested parties and I have worked closely with higher educational institutions, industry and business partners, non-profit organizations and others to ensure all students have access to their best possible future.

I believe that my lifetime of experience, dedication to students and providing opportunities for students, parents, faculty and staff makes me the right person in the right place at the right time to lead us through this transformational time in public education. Join me in making Orange County Public Schools the One Choice People Select.