2025-present  US Chess Federation

Assistant Director of Events

• Work with the US Chess Events Department to arrange, plan, and manage US Chess National Events

• Provide support for US Chess affiliates and their events

• Hired as Events Manager, April 2025; promoted to Assitant Director July 2025

2024-present Prairie View Hobbies, LLC

Owner

• Providing Chess Event services

• Providing Chess Tournament Director services

• Providing Chess Coaching and Coaching support

• Providing Chess organizational support

2024-2025  Wildman Hobbbies

Fiberglass Workshop Foreman

• Machine operator - Producing Filament-Wound fiberglass parts for rocketry; i.e. airframe and coupler tubes, nosecones, transitions, and more

• Training Specialist - In charge of training new hires in the Fiberglass workshop

• Manager - Manage the production and work flow for all fiberglass production

2012-2024 Guilford High School, Rockford

Classes Taught:

• English 12 - AP Literature & Composition (2016-2024)

  • Students develop critical language, analysis, and interpretive skills in extremely complex text

  • Students also develop the skills to communicate their analysis clearly and thoroughly

• English 12 - Senior English (2015-2024)

  • Helped students develop...

  • ... reading strategies and methods to successfully encounter college level text

  • ... college-level writing skills for essays, personal statements, and other assorted writing tasks

  • ... speaking and presentation skills using multimedia technology

  • ... collaboration skills through self-guided projects and ongoing peer assessment

• English 11 - American Literature (2017-2019)

  • Helped students develop...

  • ... reading strategies and methods to successfully encounter difficult text

  • ... analytical writing skills for essays, persuasion, and other assorted writing tasks

  • ... speaking and presentation skills using multimedia technology

  • ... collaboration skills through self-guided projects and ongoing peer assessment

• English 12 - Capstone (2016/17, + curriculum development)

  • Students developed independent learning projects connected with the community through which they learned how to interact professionally, research information, compile reports, and deliver professional presentations on their efforts

• ACT Prep (2015/16, + extra tutoring)

  • Helped students increase ACT Reading and English scores by an average of 6+ points in a semester

• Literacy - Janet Allen's Plugged In to Non-Fiction (2012-2016)

  • Helped students develop reading strategies to comprehend complex text.

  • Increased student Lexile scores by an average of 100-200 points in a single year

• Literacy - Read 180, System 44 (2012-2014)

  • Helped students learn phonics through basic comprehension skills

  • Many students grew 2-3 years of reading skill in one year

  • One student grew from illiteracy to 5th grade reading in a single year

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Chess Team Coach (2012-2024)

  • Developed a chess team structure that fosters independent skill growth and student-led leadership

  • Created a strong team environment that  encourages collaboration while maintaining individual motivation and competition

  • See my chess background here

• Scholastic Bowl Co-Coach (2012-2014)

Committees:

• Building Association Representative (2012-2024)

  • Head Building Association Representative 2019-2021

  • Rockford Education Association Secretary 2022-2024

• Building Committee (2012-2019)

  • Worked with the teacher representatives and administrative representatives to resolve building-level issues through clear communication and collaboration

• Grading Committee (2019)

  • Worked with a team of teachers to develop common practices and expectations for grading and using the online gradebook in order to help communicate about grades with students, parents, and support staff

• Capstone Curriculum Committee (2015-2017)

  • Worked with a team of teachers to develop a curriculum open enough to include a wide range of student-selected Capstone projects while maintaining the assessment needs and skill development required of high school curriculum

  • Through a constant reassessment process, we updated and changed the curriculum as needed to meet the needs of students, community support team, and teachers

2012-2016 DeKalb High School

Class Taught - Summer School Speech

• • 20 4-hour days

  • Class size 25-32

2007-2012 Marengo Community High School, Marengo

Class Taught:

• Summer School Reading Workshop

• English 10

• English 10 Honors

• English 12 - Senior Literature

• English 12 - College Writing

• Advanced Speech

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Class of 2011 Class Sponsor (4 years)

• Chess Club Sponsor (2007-08)

• Chess Team Coach (2008-12)

Committees

• English 12 Curriculum Team

• Career Committee

2006-2007 Woodruff High School, Peoria

Classes Taught

• English 9 - Speech

• English 10

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Chess Club co-sponsor

2005-2006 Washington Gifted School, Peoria

Classes Taught

• 6th Grade Reading

• 7th Grade Speech

• 8th Grade Debate

• 7th Grade English

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Boys Softball Coach (Fall)

• Boys Basketball Coach (Winter)

• Chess Club Sponsor (Spring)

2007-2009 Huntington Learning Center, Rockford

• Tutored K-12 students in mathematics and reading

• ACT tutoring of all 5 ACT tests

2005-2007 Blockbuster Video, Peoria & Rockford

• Customer Service in film recommendation and accommodation

• Sales of video selections, extra purchases, and various customer programs

• Placement, stocking, and warehousing of videos and other merchandise

2001-2005 Domino's Pizza, Peoria

• Customer Service Representative, take orders from customers in person and via phone, respond to customer comments

• Pizza Cook, make orders of all items

2000-2005 Meijer, Bolingbrook

• Front-End Supervisor, charged with managing cashiers, baggers, and customer service desk representatives throughout a shift

• Customer Service Representative, charged with operating the service desk and accommodating customer returns and exchanges

• Cashier

1999-2004 Bolingbrook Park District

• Day Camp Counselor, 3 summers

• Remington Lakes Sports Complex Field Supervisor

1998-1999 Target, Bolingbrook

• Customer Service Representative

• Electronics Department Lead

1997-1998 Jewel-Osco, Bolingbrook

• Front-End Service Representative, Bagger

• Produce Department.