"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit." - Proverb
I was born and raised in rural South-Central Pennsylvania. After high school I went to college, leaving in 2008 with my University of Pittsburgh degree and the amazing woman who would go on to become my wife. In 2013 we began searching for a house and instead we found our home in Wilkinsburg, a place we truly love.
I've been a member of the Parks and Recreation board since 2017, helping to organize and participating in clean-ups, summer recreation programs, etc. I've personally spearheaded the clean-ups of Rosa Parks Park, a formerly abandoned park space, and am working with community members and the borough for further improvements both short and long term.
Since I was a little kid I've always wanted to know how things work. I was gifted tools when I was just 6, a child's beginner set - within days I was caught disassembling the furniture. They started giving me things just to tinker with, safely. I'd get weekly rides to the library to research my questions, the things I saw tinkering that week. Then the family all scraped together to buy our first PC, and later dial up internet. Going online changed my life - I could learn anything I wanted.
My family was always like that - they valued learning and hard work. I learned to break anything I wanted to do down, research and plan, and go forth confidently. I do this now when I renovate my older home, and it's this energy that I want to bring to Wilkinsburg - a dedicated steward who wants to carefully diagnose issues and develop solutions, here in the place I call home.