About Me

I was born at a young age in Lowell, MA. Quite the jet-setter, I moved to Miami Beach at age 1 and then to Fort Lauderdale at age 2. Pleased with the balmy weather and my proximity to the Las Olas beach, I settled down for the long haul.

Year Three of my life is a mystery. But when I was four, I enrolled at Pine Crest, where I spent the next 14 years surrounded by smart friends, dedicated teachers, and abundant opportunities to develop great work habits and communication skills.

In 4th grade, my friends all joined Band without telling me. Fast forward two weeks and all the cool instruments were taken - I had to choose between the trombone, French horn, and tuba. While weighing my options, my father leaned over and whispered, “Pick the slidey one!” And just like that, my trombone career was born.

Over the next decade, I was lucky enough to play music in a variety of extraordinary settings, including:

• New England Music Camp for two beautiful Maine summers
• Interlochen for three incredible Michigan 🤚 summers (including the time I beat all the legit euphonium players in an audition for Holst’s The Planets)
• Florida Youth Orchestra and its Top Brass ensemble
• performing the David Concertino with full orchestral accompaniment
• the Ars Flores Chamber Orchestra
• the Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra
• Florida All-State concert and jazz bands (as a 9th grader!)
• Pine Crest concert bands, jazz bands, and pit orchestras (including the time in 8th grade I was recruited for the high school performance of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, featuring Ariana Grande’s brother)

Notable conductors I performed with include:

• Frederick Fennell at Interlochen
• James Judd as an FYO guest conductor
• Thomas Sleeper for multiple FYO seasons

And yes, I made it to Carnegie Hall! How? Practice! (And belong to the Florida Youth Orchestra in 2003.)

I graduated from Pine Crest in 2005 and accepted a full, merit-based Trustee Scholarship from Boston University. After exploring Chemistry, Biology, Nutrition, Economics, and Computer Science, I took a Statistics course and liked the intersection of mathematical thinking and computer programming. I completed the combined BA/MA degree program in Mathematics/Statistics, graduating Phi Beta Kappa after four years at age 21. I was graciously awarded the College Prize for Excellence in Statistics by the mathematics department faculty, and even gave the student speech at the department graduation ceremony.

After working for a year as a statistical geneticist and R programmer at Biogen Idec, I headed west to start a PhD in the Statistics department at UC Berkeley in 2010. I completed two years of coursework before deciding that a PhD in Statistics wasn’t for me, as much as I liked Northern California.

In 2012, I moved back to South Florida to figure out what was for me. I started exploring my growing interest in Computer Science while still at Berkeley, an interest I expanded by taking online courses from some of the best professors/schools in the world. I also started supporting students in South Florida and eventually around the country in their academic endeavors as a private tutor, which I enjoy even far past the 20,000-hour mark.

In July 2022, I moved to beautiful Spokane, WA with the talented, lovely Sam Wilder to explore a new part of the country. So far, so great! 🏔️🌲