I received my bachelor's degree from Connecticut College in New London (1980) and law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston (1985). In March 2006, I received a Master of Arts in "Security Studies (Homeland Defense and Security)" from the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security. I am admitted to practice law in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and have worked in both the private and government sectors.

Since 2006, I have been a writer, homeland security/emergency management consultant, and instructor. I teach homeland security, emergency management, and public health classes, and design homeland security classes. My favorite subjects to teach are government/political science and homeland security. The first helps me understand our amazing system of government, and the second is about protecting it.

My teaching philosophy stems from theories about adult learning (andragogy). Rather than the teacher simply spewing facts (pedagogy), the teacher is a facilitator of learning to a motivated learner. Students need to know facts, but learning is more than that. It includes thinking about the material.