I was born in the year that Mt. St. Helens erupted. I’ve always felt a connection with this event. I’m not an explosive person, however. I am a pretty calm-headed person, actually. I feel more connected to nature and, as it happens, have climbed this particular mountain 4 times now (with plans to do it a fifth).

I grew up in Eastern Washington. Went to a small high school. All of the students were together: preschoolers all the way up to seniors in high school. I had the pleasure of graduating with a total of 13 fine young people. My brother, the year before, graduated with 7.

I graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Plastics Engineering Technology. This is where I found my passion for materials and solving problems.

I started my career at Eddyline Kayaks, a fine manufacturer of thermoformed kayaks. The owner, Tom Derrer, is a fantastic person and ran a nice little shop making these boats. This was a short stint for me, 3 months in total, as a summer intern.

After this first job out of school, I was fortunate enough to be hired by Cascade Dafo, the premier supplier and manufacturer of Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthotics (DAFO!). I had a great time being employed here. I worked alongside (mostly under and trying to keep up with) Pete Battersby. This man taught me a lot about life, business, respect, grit, and thinking through a good, hard problem. With Pete, we created some significant improvements in the manufacturing processes for the custom and generic orthotics that Cascade DAFO sold with a heavy emphasis on fixture standardization and process automation.

Life changes and along with it comes the need to venture out. This brings me to my next job at Elkhart Plastics. I have had fun working with this team of individuals in our pursuits of rotationally molded perfection. I was originally hired as the Engineering Manager and was promoted to Plant Manager when the opportunity came up. I learned a lot in this role and enjoyed being able to support and improve as many employees and projects as I did.

I am now a Plant Manager with Mack Molding at their Cavendish, Vermont facility.