Hard work. Community. Love of family. Service.

I learned these simple values from my parents growing up in Wichita--and they are the same values that guide me every day in my career as a lecturer at Wichita State University, attorney, and active member of the Wichita community.

More than 30 years ago my parents moved to East Wichita with the hope that the American Dream was available to anyone who worked hard and played by the rules. And thanks to Wichita, that dream came true. My parents still operate a medical clinic that has created over 50 jobs and provides top-quality care for the community.

My life in Wichita began at the tender age of nine months old and it wasn't long before I was bringing people together to help improve our community. When I was 15, I helped organize a community-wide recycling program that saved hundreds of pounds of garbage from the county landfill and led to a large cleanup of the Arkansas River downtown. As a reporter for the Wichita Eagle, I worked with U.S.D. 259 to produce the annual 'back-to-school' issue and wrote a column on each high school in the city.

In high school, I was active in sports, debate, and newspaper, and was honored to graduate as both valedictorian and student body president.

I attended Duke University where I was a member of a fraternity and led a coalition of faculty and students to improve working conditions on campus. I then went to Harvard Law School where in addition to my legal studies, I founded a small technology company with two classmates that taught me the importance of entrepreneurship.

Law school not only honed my advocacy skills and deepened my commitment to helping others, but it is also where I met the love of my life--my wife Monica, a fellow attorney born and raised in a small town in upstate New York. We were married in July 2004 and she is now a successful corporate attorney. Her parents live in Middletown, New York

where they are retired public school teachers and active in civic and religious affairs.
In my career, I have worked for a federal judge, as an advocate for better schools and expanded voting rights for all citizens, and as a researcher on homeland security and constitutional issues in Washington, DC. During that time, I also took a three-month leave to help my father through some health problems (from which he thankfully fully recovered).

I am proud, happy and excited to be in Wichita, near my family and the community I love. In teaching at Wichita State I am helping to educate and shape our city's youth while maintaining a deep commitment to public service and civic involvement.
I have dedicated myself to service, and am honored to represent the 87th District.