What have you been up to since high school:
Never quite sure whether to do this chronologically or from most importance to least so I think I'll do a bit of a hybrid.
Right after high school, I headed back east where I received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Swarthmore College and a MPP (Masters in Public Policy) from Harvard University at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. In between those educational stints, I worked for 2 years at Swarthmore in their Development Office where I spent a lot of time working with west coast alumni and learning to write grants (which would come in handy later in life).
Most of my professional career has been in either the nonprofit sector or working for local government (as I somewhat sheepishly confess that I have never actually had a "private sector" job!) Although as you will see below, I have held several elected positions, I am actually more interested in the policy aspect of the position rather than the politics (since I hate or am not very good at fundraising, talking only in sound bites and generally dumbing down the level of political discourse).
In the Spring of 1992, I moved to Bend, OR which is a wonderful community of (now) 100,000 in the middle of the state, just at the foot of the east side of the Cascade Mountains. What drew me to Bend initially was its reputation as "Oregon's playground" and that is so true - with the NW's largest ski resort just 22 minutes away, world class rockclimbing, kayaking, windsurfing and awesome road and mountain biking trails this place is amazing! One of the laments here is that you never get really good at any one thing because you are always distracted by so many other fun activities. Last summer, I bought a OneWheel and enjoying zooming around the local mountain bike trails!
I am currently employed by the Bend La Pine School District as their Grant Writer, a position I have held for 16 years! This entails a wide range of responsibilities from ensuring millions of dollars of federal funds are accounted for and being properly spent to helping teachers and administrators apply for District and school initiatives around literacy, technology, science and education reform all the way down to helping Mrs. Johnson get a $100 grant so she can buy some microscopes for her 3rd grade classroom. I really like the people I work with and the District has been very accommodating of all my other community endeavors.
On the extra-curricular side, I have been very active in a wide variety of organizations and causes including serving on the Boards of the Bend-La Pine School District, the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District, and the local community college. I served a total of 12 years on the Bend City Council (including a stint as Mayor from 2007-2008). In 2006, I was appointed by Gov. Kulongoski to serve on the Oregon Health Services Commission.
On the personal side, I met my wife, Dr. Mary Meador, in May of 1999 at a post-triathlon race party. I asked her out on a date a week later and we have been together ever since! She is a family practice physician who, about 20 years ago, limited her scope of practice to mental health. She now has a private practice where she sees both individuals and couples and has become an expert in Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB). When we got married in 2000, I became the happy recipient of two wonderful step-daughters who have since grown into magnificent young women. Naomi is 29 and a stellar student (almost done with her PhD) and very involved with art, drama, photography, you name it. She took a "gap year" and spent 9 months in Senegal after high school. Aedin is 26 and working as a chemist for a local pharmaceutical company in Bend. She has taken a number of gap years - spending 11th grade as a Rotary exchange student in Denmark and then after college earning a 6 month fellowship at the Gandhi Ashram in India!
Looking forward to seeing everybody and catching up at the next Reunion!
