Biography

Personal

I was born and raised in Ventura County. My father served as the County’s Agricultural Biologist for his entire career and my mother was a local business owner. Because of my father’s work in government and my mother’s business sense, I joke that I was born with the blood of a public servant, and the heart of an entrepreneur.

Education

I attended the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), where I received my BA in 1990 in Political Science, and Minors in both Third World Studies and Science.

Philanthropy

In my senior year at UCSD, I founded a non-profit organization, to provide job training and employment opportunities to the homeless. This agency assisted homeless individuals to locate jobs and find housing assistance. As a result, hundreds of people were able to make a successful transition from a life of homelessness, to a life with a new job and new hope

Business/Work Experience

Immediately after I graduated from UCSD, I was hired by the County of San Diego to develop and implement San Diego County’s residential, business and industrial recycling programs. It was my job to create these new services, without raising taxes. By doing so, I learned skills that would serve me well and provide the foundation for the rest of my career. In 1992, I was recruited by the City of West Hollywood for the position of Environmental Services and Operations Manager, and I accepted the challenge. As a City official, I created new programs to facilitate recycling, water and energy conservation and hazardous waste management, which continue to serve the local community today. I also led several multi-jurisdictional environmental programs that allowed local governments to share the cost of implementing regional environmental programs that are still in use. I was part of a multi-agency task force that created and implemented a new program called “Operation Outreach”. Under direction of Sheriff Sherman Block, the task force consisted of police officers, social workers, homeless organizations, job placement services and community leaders who contacted “at risk” individuals in high crime areas. The team assisted “at risk” individuals with finding housing, a job or other tools needed to facilitate their transition from a life on the streets, to a positive and productive life. I’m very proud of my involvement in this project, because I believe that when you offer a person a “hand up” instead of a “hand out”, they develop the skills needed to become a valued and productive member of our communities. Operation Outreach received the International Police Chief’s Award for Innovation, the highest International Award in Public Safety, and was honored by the FBI for its work in assisting “at risk” populations to find work, education and housing. In 1997, I decided to leave my job with West Hollywood, so that I could devote my time to a business I had started, with the modification of a machine that could recycle what was considered “non-recyclable glass”, back into sand. One of the benefits of this process was that it could prevent what was what was considered “non-recyclable material” from being dumped into our already overburdened landfills. This “recycled glass sand” was then used most notably in the construction of the Interstate 5 Freeway expansion and interchange near Disneyland in Orange County. This proved to be a highly profitable venture and was beneficial to the environment, which had always been one of my passions. 1997 was also a very special year for me, as my daughter Natalie was born.

Personal Challenges

In 2000, my father passed away unexpectedly. My mother had been in declining health for many years, and my father had been her primary caregiver. At this point, I decided to leave the glass recycling business and sell the company assets. By doing this, my family would be able to move back to Camarillo, so that we could care for my mother and spend more time together as a family. Making these changes would prove to be one of the greatest challenges in my life. I assumed that with my background and resume, I would be able to easily find a job that would provide for my family, however, I found that no matter how hard I tried, I could not find a job. I was told repeatedly that I was overqualified for the positions I applied for, and was unemployed from 2001 to 2002. Under the strain of so many changes and difficulties, my wife and I divorced in 2001. Our assets were split and we agreed on joint custody of our daughter Natalie. After these two years and the divorce, I found myself nearly broke and on the verge of bankruptcy. But I refused to give up. I decided that if I couldn’t find a job that could provide for my family, but also allow me to spend the time I needed to care for my mother, and be the kind of father that my daughter deserved, I would create a job for myself, as I had done in the past for many others. With my longstanding interest and commitment to the environment, I started to look into how I could provide recycling and environmental services to the County’s agricultural industry.

Innovation and new business

In 2002, I invented a process to recycle grass clippings and yard waste into a unique organic soil amendment that serves as an alternative to toxic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used by local farmers. As a result, I turned my idea into a multi-million dollar per year business. My soil amendments are now part of the foundation of organic farming industry, and are used by many of the largest names in agriculture. I had found a way to not only have the time to spend with my family and earn the resources to provide for all their needs, I had created jobs for others, and produced a product that when used by farmers, saves them money, gives them the ability to grow better crops, improve their crop yields, use 30% less water and help to protect our environment. Because my products are 100% organic, farmers don’t have to use toxic chemicals anymore. Without chemicals, we are protecting water sources, including our drinking water supply. Reducing and eventually eliminating toxic chemicals in agriculture also helps to reduce air pollutions.

Personal

In 2003 I met Kari, who would become my best friend and future wife. In 2005, we married. Our son Michael, is now 16 months old, and my daughter Natalie is 10 years old. Kari and I are both 41. I’m also involved in other local activities. I coach AYSO Soccer, and I’m involved in our local church. I enjoy surfing, biking and many other outdoor activities. Earlier this year, after a very long illness, my mother passed away. She had often encouraged me to run for public office and in the last months before her death, we talked about me running for the Assembly, and she encouraged me to do it. She knew that I love a challenge, problem solving and helping others. We talked about public service being a calling. I believe now is the time for me to answer that call. It would be an honor to serve our community and State, and to serve as your elected representative from the 37th Assembly district of California.