About Me

I studied linguistics for my undergraduate degree at the University of Toledo from 1993 to 1997 under Dr. Dorothy Siegel (MIT 1974). After graduation my wife Laura and I worked for Cru, most recently in Rome, Italy, from 2006-2018. I enjoyed teaching English and Italian and watching my children grow up bilingual. As our time in Italy came to a close, I decided to pursue graduate studies. We moved our family to East Lansing, Michigan, so that I could start PhD studies in the fall of 2018 at Michigan State University.

Outside of the university, I enjoy spending time with my family, coaching my daughter's soccer team and reading. I'm currently reading Venice: A New History  by Thomas Madden, The Identity Trap by Yascha Mounk, and Imagining the Kingdom by James K. A. Smith. 

I've been making hommade pizza (from dough to sauce) nearly every Saturday night for over a dozen years. My current favorites are a margherita sbagaliata (that I saw on Chef's Table on Netflix), a mashed potato and sausage (based on a pizza from Stelle Gemella in our neighborhood in Rome), and pear and gorgonzola.