I suppose I should start at the beginning.
I started working for NASA when I was a sophomore in high school, graduated in Engineering from Cal Poly SLO and continued working as a mechanisms engineer for JPL/NASA.
I worked on Galileo, Mars Pathfinder, Cassini, comet drilling mechanisms, and other devices. I moved into the fast-paced life of working for a small aerospace mechanism company who designed, developed, and delivered hardware to Lockheed, Orbital, Loral, Honeywell, JPL, etc but that company was purchased and moved out of state.
Moving out of aerospace, I became an engineering director for Capstone Microturbine where I started working with our customers and contractors to understand how to install our generators. This experience outside with architects and contractors led me to a world of working in the construction and redevelopment industry, where I also ran my own company for over 10 years as a project manager and engineering consultant.
I had always wanted to find a way to share all my experience and background by teaching engineering and had a passion to teach at the high school level to motivate and inspire new engineers. This opportunity came to me out of the blue after speaking at a local high school.
I have been a Boy Scout leader for over 10 years and speaking in high schools for several decades, so I was used to working with this age and jumped at the chance.
I love teaching, but I also see a way to impact youth beyond the fence of my school by writing and speaking wherever I can inspire others.