ABOUT ME

I’m part of a big family from the Midwest, and while I undoubtedly spent my fair share of time tromping around the woods of our neighborhood with my siblings and cousins, I could just as frequently be found attempting to navigate the nearest proximity as possible to the newest addition of the family.

Over the years since then, I’ve proven to be pretty darn good with kids, but it's infants that I can't seem to ever get enough time with.

Not only is it both mesmerizing and enthralling to watch as babies take in the world around them, learning and absorbing at a truly unfathomable pace, but potentially even more powerful is how they transform the world around them, turning even the hardest, most poker-faced strangers into sweet, doe-eyed softees in a fraction of a heartbeat.

Aside from babies, though, there are a few other things that I love beyond reason or explanation... the most significant of which is my nephew, Gideon. While I couldn't previously have imagined anything that could possibly make me want to move back to St. Louis, his arrival three years ago undoubtedly gave me pause and reason for careful reconsideration.
Of course, in addition to my nephew, I also miss my folks and siblings, and ​aside from them, not a summer goes by when I don't long for a good Midwest torrential downpour with raindrops warm as bathwater and claps of thunder so loud they shake you to the bone.

With that said, I've lived in Seattle for more than 15 years now, and it's more a home to me than any other place has ever been. I adore this city for a million reasons, not least of which is the indescribable paradise that surrounds us in every direction. At least once a month, year round, I do my best to hit the road and head for the mountains, usually in search of a river to follow and or a lake to explore.

Over the years, I’ve done everything from restaurant work to regular corporate gigs, engineering, writing, marketing consultancy, apparel, videography, yoga instruction, and more. In the end, though, the only thing that truly nourishes and sustains me is the knowledge that my time and energy is spent in service of something greater- that I’m making a significant positive impact in some capacity - and nowhere is that more apparent for me than in childcare and birth work.

For whatever reason, there’s always been a deep, intrinsic knowledge that fatherhood is one of the most significant roles that I will play, and while that dream hasn’t yet been realized, I take a tremendous amount of solace in the fact that, until that day comes, I can't imagine anything that would keep me as profoundly happy and engaged as the work I do as a birth and postpartum doula.