A Little Bit About Me
I am an ordained Presbyterian minister. I have served churches in Menlo Park and Thousand Oaks, California; Seattle and Centralia, Washington; and was Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Manasquan New Jersey from 2003-2011. I hold a doctorate degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. I did my undergraduate work at Seattle Pacific University in psychology and religion. I have certification in Executive and Organizational Coaching at NYU and have studied non-profit management and fundraising at Columbia University in New York City.
I have served on numerous private and public boards and committees, including the founding president of the Oaks School Board in Thousand Oaks, California, co-founder of the Samaritan Center of the Jersey Shore, commissioner to the Pensions Board of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, member of the Mental Health Board of Monmouth County, NJ, member of the Committee on Ministry in Monmouth Presbytery and chairman of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry in the Santa Barbara Presbytery.
Throughout my career I have offered leadership to several major facility expansions and capital campaigns. I love to support people as they seek to make a difference in the world for good and for God.
My Background
Much of who I am has its foundation in my youth. I learned during my childhood to readily adapt to new environments as my family traveled extensively with my father’s career in the United States military. My mother was a professional musician and gave to my four sisters and me a love for music. I developed leadership experience in my school days through student government and many youth counseling experiences. I developed a commitment to living a balanced life of service and leadership as an Eagle Scout. The principles of scouting still guide and inform me. I gained a great appreciation for the integration of faith and learning through attending a fine Christian school, Hawaii Baptist Academy. That is where I met Cindy. The picture above is with Cindy on her back porch in Hawaii, after we started dating. We both went to Seattle Pacific University. Our wonderful educational experiences were an inspiration behind our work in founding the non-profit that did initial work on the Oaks School.
My Family and Leisure
My wife Cindy worked many years in education, with a specialty in language acquisition development and curriculum design. She is now an institutional consultant and personal life coach. She is also an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church and is a certified Spiritual Director with the Benedictines. She serves as a speaker for retreats and conferences. God has blessed us with four wonderful boys: Grant (who is married to Julia), Blake, Lane and Scott. I’ve enjoyed years of coaching baseball and soccer. I enjoy swimming, biking, and walking around our beach community and wherever we visit.
