Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Manhattan Beach Unified School District

Born in Santa Monica and raised in Manhattan Beach, I was fortunate to enjoy the benefits of our great beach lifestyle. I attended great schools taught by fantastic teachers at Ladera Elementary, Center Junior High, and Aviation High School.

I graduated from Aviation in 1977 and spent the next two and a half years at El Camino College where I got a great general education, played football, and received my AA degree. I transferred to California State University, Northridge, where I majored in Business Administration specializing in management information systems. I continued playing college football and graduated with honors in 1982. Later I returned to CSUN and earned an MBA in 1989.

I began my career in the information technology field with the County of Los Angeles Auditor/Controllers office, later working as a consultant with Arthur Young. I spent 17 years with the company that became Ernst & Young and transitioned from a partnership to a public company as part of Capgemini, LLC. Today I am with the consulting firm of JBA International, where I lead their consulting, outsourcing and IT staffing services. My work includes helping clients reduce operational costs and increase productivity by transforming business processes and implementing empowering technology solutions.

In 1989, Grettel and I were married. After a brief stint working in Sacramento, we realized we missed our beach-community lifestyle and moved back to Manhattan Beach. Our eldest daughter Lauren, was born in 1994, followed by Nicole in 1996, Renee in 2000 and Robert in 2003. Lauren is a 7th grader at Manhattan Beach Middle School. Nicole and Renee attend Grandview, where they are in the 5th and 2nd grades, respectively. Robert is a preschooler at Trinity Lutheran. I have been an AYSO coach for a number of my daughters' teams and for the past three years have been an active AYSO referee. I volunteer at all of my children's schools and PTA organizations. Grettel has served on the board of both Grandview and MBMS PTAs.

In early 2006, I answered the Manhattan Beach School District's call for volunteers on the MBUSD 7-11 Committee, which was charged with evaluating the district's real estate assets. For more than a year, the committee reviewed enrollment data, school and district site capacity and usage. We engaged public input and determined appropriate uses for surplus property prior to recommending utilization of those assets to the board. In addition, the committee devoted considerable time to understanding school enrollment data, projections, and site capacity and usage analysis. My involvement on the MBUSD 7-11 Committee gave me a unique and comprehensive perspective on the district's facilities as well as the community's short- and long-term perceptions and opinions.

Now it's time to give something back to the community that gave so much to me. As a member of the Manhattan Beach School Board, I would consider it a privilege to dedicate my professional expertise and district experience toward ensuring that our school district continues to provide the best possible education for the children of our great community.