Welcome

HELLO

As I start my 50s, I have found a lot of things to be much clearer than they used to be; I think this stems from realizing and accepting some of my truths, and letting go of some beliefs that just didn't work for me. What I have essentially discovered is that:

I want to be a force for good, and work on projects that enable that.

Success is simply being the best version of myself that I can be.

I want to find and be with people who are authentic, kind, and have integrity.

That's it, that's pretty much what I'm about. If you're about this kind of stuff too, we should definitely hang out.

CURRENT PROJECTS

I am currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer at Braven, a national non-profit that is changing outcomes for first-generation and low-income college students that often fail to secure strong first jobs out of college, which can result in a lifetime of diminished earnings. Braven has designed an intensive accelerator course, coordinated a vast network of volunteers and employer partners, and built a suite of technology-enabled learning and coaching tools, that creates new pathways for these students to narrow the persistent wealth gap that exists in the United States.

BRAVEN.ORG

Previously, I served as the Chief Data and Innovation Officer at the Noble Network of Charter Schools, a Chicago-based charter school system operating 18 campuses with 12,000 students. Noble is an incredible organization that I am proud to have been a part of: the commitment, integrity, and purpose that drives its people to provide educational equity for all Chicago students is something amazing to witness. It is a place in the midst of transformation and it’s truly an exciting place to be.

NobleSchools.org

Servo is a digital product development agency that I started in 2008, specializing in building sophisticated web and mobile apps for its partners. I have had the good fortune to work with some amazing groups of people to help produce a portfolio of some very cool products and tools. My time is currently spent helping SoftwareONE, a $7B enterprise software giant, along with the DAV, where we have created a truly powerful training platform for this vital organization to better help disabled veterans across the United States.

Servomakes.com

I am a co-founding member of The Digital Life Collective, an organization of people who are working to promote and build technologies that protect individual privacy and identity. In an era of unprecedented privacy erosion, led by massive companies that profit from our digital surveillance, we work to develop tech by us, for us. Tech we can trust.

Diglife.com

Regroup Telehealth (now Array Behavioral Care) is a tele-psychiatry company that I helped start as its Chief Technology Officer. It was a privilege to be part of a smart and passionate team that made a significant impact in the health and well-being for a large population of people across the United States, and even more gratifying to see it evolve into the largest tele-psychiatry provider in the US.

ArrayBC.com

MARTIAL ARTS

I am a student of the martial arts. I hold a black belt in the art of Brazilian Jiujitsu and spend most of my free time at the Downtown Jiu Jitsu Club, where I teach and train. It's a great school where I have met not only some impressive martial artists, but also even more remarkable people who quite regularly inspire me to become a better human being.

downtownjiujitsuclub.com

In addition to jiujitsu, I am certified to teach the art of Yiquan, a Chinese fighting system that I learned while living in Beijing with the 3rd generation lineage holder, Yao Chengguang. I have also studied Chen-style Taijiquan for over a decade with a number of masters in the United States and England.

Yiquan.us

I created a service called Technika, which is a site that allows martial artists of all types create online subscription-based video courses. Create video instructionals, techniques, lessons and share them on the internet with interested students in HD video. It's just getting started, but a project that I find tremendously satisfying to work on.

technika.io

WRITING

I try to regularly put down some thoughts, mostly for therapeutic reasons, but hopefully they might prove useful for others to read as well. I tend to write commentary on politics, psychology, martial arts, health and technology.

BLOG