My family and I moved to Virginia Beach on June 29, 2022, from rural Indiana. My wife and I were working remotely and looking for a place where we could be close to the beach, surrounded by nature, and live in a community with good public schools. Our family values the great outdoors, and we both decided it was time for a new start.
A question I get asked often is why, as a new resident in Virginia Beach, I am already running for office. At the end of the day, I am a firm believer in public education and the role it plays in our community in building equality, democracy, and maintaining an active economy. Before deciding to run, I met with various community leaders, teachers, and parents to learn about their perspectives, and I asked them why I should run as a newer resident.
They told me that Virginia Beach is a very transient city, with many military families moving in and out each year, and I would bring a fresh perspective that matches the narrative of many new families who enter our school system.
They told me that we need leaders with experience who are not afraid to address issues around our teacher shortage and pay to ensure that our kids continue to receive a fantastic education. The teachers I talked to told me about the need to restore safety and structure to their classrooms as discipline issues continue to consume their time.
Over the last 13+ years, I have lived a life of service dedicated to empowering communities and individuals. This includes leading an after-school program in East Appalachia with AmeriCorps, mentoring and teaching English to refugee families who resettled in America, connecting college students to volunteer opportunities in their community that included mentoring and literacy programs, setting up micro-medical clinics in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, and helping reskill formerly incarcerated individuals to land tech jobs.
The major reason I am running is that I believe through my professional experience and life of service, I will help the board solve big problems and continue to make Virginia Beach a great place to live and learn.
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