My family line flows back to the Smoky Mountains on both sides. My grandfather worked the fields in Cades Cove before the national park existed, and my last name is found on many cemetery stones nearby.  A few of my ancestors are locally famous; there's a statue of one of my ancestors in Gatlinburg and another down in Sevier County. 

I grew up a bit further down the hill in Central Appalachian foothills in my mom's rural family holler. I was part of the fourth generation to live there. I practically ran feral in the woods there as a child. My mom and grandmother both taught me to appreciate daffodils, gardening, and nature. My father was a career US Army soldier who taught me the importance of serving the greater good and owning a dedicated work ethic.

I had no idea as a child what I wanted out of life, but I had a strong sense I wanted to support rural communities like my own. Today, my roots in East Tennessee keep me stable and give me a sense of purpose.

I spent ten years as a professor! Not bad for a kid from Appalachia. I even got tenure and promotion to full professor at EKU. It was wonderful to meet these career goals, but I felt I could do a lot more...

I decided that it was time for a new stage of my career: a stage where I could speak as an economic impact expert on a much larger national platform. I was blessed to find that opportunity first at Earth Resources Technology. There, I worked as a natural resource economist in support of NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) mandate under the Magnuson- Stevens Act. In supporting NOAA, I streamlined their economic impact methodologies, provided professional feedback on past and present studies, and also led economic impact analyses of small fish fleets, oyster and eelgrass restoration in the Chesapeake Bay, and recreation/restoration efforts in Florida. I also published a couple papers and became an IMPLAN Certified Economist while there. 

After two years supporting NOAA, I accepted an extraordinary offer to join Vista Site Selection as their Lead Economist. Vista is a national expert and respected name in helping companies identify where they should build their next business and understand the economic impacts of their current operations. At Vista, I'm doing massive economic impact studies across the nation on levels I could never have imagined. I've even learned some new tools, like using Lightcast to examine labor statistics and Placer to study visitation patterns. I'm honored to be on this extraordinary team. They challenge me and every day is a new adventure.