Where to start?
Well, here’s how I put it on my LinkedIn:
I’m a hands-on IT services jack-of-all-trades. From 2012 to 2025, my primary focus has been building and maintaining IT infrastructure to support professional broadcast video editing and distribution. I began my journey in January 2000 as an Apple Certified Repair Specialist and transitioned into IT infrastructure consulting at mDimension Technology, helping businesses integrate Apple products into their work environments.
I enjoy the challenge of making different technologies work together in an end-user-friendly way—doing the heavy lifting on the backend to ensure all systems function seamlessly.
My current role has me focused on HD video delivery systems, high-speed networks, large-scale self-hosted and cloud-hosted storage, leading an internal software development team, and acting as the Ops in a DevOps model. I’m also responsible for migrating the organization to a DevOps model based on AGILE principles and the Theory of Constraints.
I’ve served as Director of three cross-discipline departments simultaneously during and after the pandemic. I build teams around shared responsibility and leadership, using Domain Management Theory and adapting traditional project management to meet the needs of both the organization and the people working with me.*
That’s a good starting point—but of course, there’s more to any person. There’s the story of where they grew up, what they did before entering the industry, and how they got to where they are today.
Early Life
I was born at Fort Belvoir Military Hospital, just south of Alexandria, VA. My father served in the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” stationed at Fort Myer, VA—right next to Arlington National Cemetery. Although I grew up an Army kid, we didn’t move often, which gave me a unique upbringing just a Metro ride from Washington, D.C.
Summers were spent exploring the National Mall and visiting as many museums as I could—especially the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. Dinosaurs and NASA? Yes, please.
The Path to IT
I attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA for two years, but like many young people, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to study or do. I left school to support myself, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of my early adult life—it led me down some unexpected but formative paths.
One of my first jobs was at Laser Quest, a laser tag entertainment company. I started as a game “Marshall,” but quickly became responsible for maintaining and repairing the laser vests and gear. That was my first taste of hands-on electronics maintenance, and I loved it.
From there, I worked at a telephone answering service. It may sound mundane, but it taught me valuable communication skills and even sparked my first side hustle—refurbishing shared keyboards. I’d clean and restore them using the same methods I learned at Laser Quest.
Enter the Mac
In the summer of 1999, I saved enough to buy my first Mac. Then, in January 2000, I left the answering service industry—but as luck would have it, a nearby independent Mac shop, Capitol Mac, was hiring a service technician. I interviewed and got the job, officially starting my IT career.
Apple Ecosystems and Infrastructure
My next role involved consulting for businesses integrating Apple products into their IT stacks—a challenging and often messy process at the time. I learned to deploy Fibre Channel SANs, build enterprise networks, configure VPNs, manage secure access with DMZ and NAT, implement intrusion detection, and develop disaster recovery plans. I also developed a firm belief: it’s not enough to have backups—you must regularly test restoration.
The Vegas Years
In 2006, I moved to Las Vegas, NV, to chase one of my passions—DJing. I had previous experience running a club night in Richmond and was invited to help manage one near the Vegas Strip. I packed up and made the leap.
Professionally, I landed at Media Solutions, a video event production company in need of someone who could keep older Mac OS 9 machines alive. There, I worked closely with video engineers and editors, learning how live video production and computing intersected—from camera operations and projection to signal flow, sync, and nonlinear editing systems.
Portland and Beyond
In 2011, I traded the desert for the Pacific Northwest, moving to Portland, OR. In 2012, I joined Portland Community Media as a Network Administrator. Over the years, I advanced through roles including Systems Administrator and Web Development Coordinator, ultimately becoming Director of Information Technology.