I was born and raised in Massapequa Park, NY on Long Island. I initially attended Georgia Tech for Engineering. I love cars (especially Studebakers) and wanted to design them. That first year didn’t go so well, so I took a year off. One of my temporary jobs was in the mail room at Citibank. At the end of each day, I had to reconcile the postage spent by each department. That’s when I realized that as a compulsive record keeper with math skills, I was born to be an accountant. I enrolled in the local Community College and then transferred to Dowling College, where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. I earned my CPA license a few years later.

I had dreamed of moving out west since I was a child. By 1997, I had visited the lower 48 states and decided Oregon was the place for me. I loaded up my car and spent two weeks crisscrossing the country before arriving in Portland with nothing but a hotel reservation. I found a job in Hood River, which I still hold. My first Sunday in Hood River, I attended worship at Asbury United Methodist Church. The folks I met that day, and upon joining the choir, became my extended family. Once my parents were in need of Assisted Living, I found them a home at Brookside Manor.

I met Cory in  2007, and we married the following year. I adopted her then twelve-year-old son, Nick, in due course and fully embraced the role of Dad. We divorced in 2020 but are still amicable and Nick is the brightest spot in my world.