“To the whole world you might be just one person, but to one person you might just be the whole world.” ― Pablo Casals
ROOTS
I was born and raised in two suburbs (Springdale, and then Wyoming) north of Cincinnati, OH. In my teens I was a member of the Wyoming middle school and high school varsity football, track & field, and wrestling teams. Growing up, I also spent a lot of time visiting family in Springboro and Centerville, two then rural communities outside of Dayton, OH.
According to my 23andMe results, genetically I am 99.3% European, with my ancestors hailing from: Poland (Podkarpackie and Podlaskie); Ukraine (Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk); Switzerland (Bern and Zurich); and Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria).
BUSINESS/ CAREERS
Click here to view my full LinkedIn profile.
PERSONAL
In my spare time I train in Pilates, yoga, FRC/ Kinstretch, and elastic bands & cables. I'm also a virtual student of several social media influencers who are experts in a few of the foregoing fitness regimens.
I'm also a regular donor to people and organizations advocating for/ saving: cats and dogs abandoned in shelters; sex trafficked children; monkeys, rats, rabbits and other animals tortured in laboratories; cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and other animals abused and slaughtered by the billions on factory farms. Click here for a list of those I donate to.
EDUCATION
I hold a Master of Journalism from the University of California -- Berkeley. (Prior to and while earning my master's degree, I had 50+ articles/ news stories published in 4 news outlets, one of the outlets in Washington DC. During the course of my news reporting career, I had the privilege to interview hundreds of people from all walks of life, including scientists, politicians, community organizers, labor union reps, CEOs, an iconic actress, authors, university professors and administrators, law enforcement officers, and, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman [perhaps the most renowned former director of the National Security Agency, or NSA].)
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of California -- Santa Barbara (UCSB), where I primarily studied East European history, the Latin language, and the works of William Shakespeare. (While at UCSB, I was honored to have been mentored for most of an academic year by a visiting professor from Hungary, Géza Jeszenszky, who later became his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Ambassador to the United States.)
TRAVELS
My travels have included 30+ U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany (including East Berlin, before reunification), Austria, and Italy.