I was born in Phoenix Arizona but was raised in Seattle, as my father got a job with Microsoft very early in my life. Following High School, I went to the United States Military Academy, where I spent four years getting a degree in Operations Research.Following that is about 9 years of military service doing a variety of jobs. Throughout all those jobs, there were a few constant lessons that always proved to be true whether the job be tactical or planning focused. First, you can't do anything without having the trust of the people above and below you. Second, communicating with your whole organization (vertically and horizontally) is essential to enable the organization to be effective. And lastly, improving an organization is hard and takes a coordinated, deliberate effort.As for who I am personally, I'm first and foremost a family man. I have a beautiful wife, Inna, who just took a position as a Pediatric Rheumatologist at the Children's Hospital in Iowa City. Secondly, I enjoy the outdoors, being physically fit and physically active. Lastly, I'm a competitive shooter and am trying to build my skills at USPSA, PCSL, and Two Gun.