I practiced law in Wyoming for 15 years.  My law path was almost exclusively litigation, and it was slowly (at first) killing me. On the advice of my doctor, I began looking at other opportunities. I made a huge change and became an English teacher. I have really enjoyed the switch. The idea came from my time volunteering at the local high school as a mock trial coach. I’ve loved being able to help students in the classroom and coach them outside of it. In addition to mock trial, I also coached soccer, volleyball, and basketball. While that list is getting whittled down, coaching is still very much a part of my identity. I hope that continues, but I don’t know how long I will teach if education law turns out to be as intriguing as I hope it is. It might just reignite my passion for advocacy and trial work! But, for now, my focus is as much on my family as ever. I have a beautiful wife (Mariah) who is an assistant principal at the high school and two daughters (Kili and Kinli). Kili is a junior and is on her way to becoming a top-class cellist, but she also plays tennis, soccer, and skis cross-country for the high school.  Kinli is a freshman and plays viola, but her true passion is soccer. She played tennis this year and really enjoyed it, but she claims to have played only to keep up her fitness.

Both girls are involved in an advocacy group tied to the school that seeks to do outreach for teens and provide a student voice to the school board. My wife was recently elected as NEA Director for Wyoming and has already spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C. She spent a week there in September and was able to lobby the Wyoming delegation on issues relating to education. She’ll continue that work into 2025. Advocacy seems to be a general theme in our family, and now I have a way to add to my quiver additional knowledge and skills that I can leverage in a number of ways both in and out of the class- and courtrooms. One thing that I hope emerges from this conference is the opportunity to discuss the intersection between schools and prisons as well as the attacks on public education nationwide.