My Story

I grew up in a town of fifty thousand in Yakima, Washington. My father is a neonatologist and cared for premature babies while my mother managed our home and raised me and my sister. My parents were dedicated citizens and modern Quakers that took me and my sister to meeting for worship. My experiences in meeting and in growing up taught me that seeking purpose in life is both a spiritual and civic journey to do what is right for yourself and for your community.

In 1995 I came to Massachusetts to study mechanical engineering at WPI. After two years of study I accepted a unique opportunity to manage an engineering department back in Yakima. During these years I realized that I had a talent for understanding the big picture. From purchasing and assembly, design and manufacturing, to sales and marketing, I learned that there was a system to running an enterprise properly.

When I returned to WPI in 2000, I knew I needed to change directions and came upon a little known major called System Dynamics, which uses computer models to keep track of problems that are too big for one person to understand. The models ranged from small business cycles to models of the entire planet, and all were able to show how systems succeeded and failed.

On my birthday in 2001, my worldview was shattered. It was September 11th and I struggled to comprehend how anyone could choose to inflict such devastation upon humanity. I needed a final project and so I decided to look for an answer using my developing skills in System Dynamics. After building a model that simulated the ten years leading up to the attacks I was able to show the roots of terrorism as well as the limits of our major policies for dealing with it.

In 2003 I married Diane, who I had met in college and began the search for a profession. My work in college would lead me to join a company called Aptima in 2004, which specializes in engineering solutions for improving interactions between people and technology. During my time at Aptima I continued learning, completing my Masters in System Dynamics while working full time on a wide range of problems for different defense research labs. Over a period of ten years I helped shape the potential for industry and government to solve big challenges while learning about the issues with our current bureaucracy.

In 2010 my first son was born and my worldview once again expanded, but for a far better reason. Being a father forced me to lift my head from the daily grind and look towards the more distant future. As a scientist I knew that an infinite number of futures were possible, but certain futures were becoming more and more likely given our current direction. After my second son was born in 2012 and national problems continued to mount, I grew increasingly concerned.

I again turned to my expertise to conduct a root cause analysis on wide range of issues and each led back to Congress and the way it was functioning. After that, all I had to do was follow the money. It was no longer a question of what was wrong, but rather what to do about it. I have since dedicated all of my time to designing an alternative political system and to joining together different movements that are working to bring representation back to the people.

Then in 2013, after only 15 percent of registered voters elected Senator Ed Markey, I knew that we needed a change. In July of that year I began testing the waters and continued refining my alternative approach to politics. In January of 2014, I spent two weeks walking 185 miles to raise awareness on the issue of institutional corruption, and by the end I knew what kind of campaign I wanted to run.

I do not think we can afford another six years of more of the same for such an important office. I believe that it is worth all the personal sacrifice to try something new. I am ready to give six years of service to my country and to apply all my experience in life and in profession to providing the best possible representation I can to the people of Massachusetts.