It’s always been difficult to answer the question “where are you from?” I was born near San Francisco, moved to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe when I was 3, moved back to the Bay Area when I was 7, then to Harare, Zimbabwe when I was 10, back to the Bay Area when I was 15, next off to Kijabe, Kenya when I was 16, landed in Springfield, Missouri when I was 18, a stop in Austin, Texas when I was 22, and lastly to Costa Mesa, California when I was 27 which I have called home since 2008.
So maybe it makes sense that it’s also been difficult to answer the question “what do you do for work?” My first job was a custodian at a college and large church where I cleaned lots of bathrooms. Next was being a college and career pastor where I learned the art of public speaking. Then I tried my hand at sales at a credit card call center and as a teller at a few banks. After being an assistant pastor (where I mostly managed programming for children) for a few years I had a very brief stint in the construction world. I found my way into volunteer management work next, with stops at 3 non-profit organizations. My last non-profit stop found me climbing the ladder to the senior leadership team where I managed a large number of staff and a massive budget. For the last few years I have been in the for-profit world working for 3 leadership development firms while becoming a certified coach. Alongside this work I also led dental outreaches in Jamaica.
In addition to changing where I have lived and jobs, I have also gone through some changes leading me away from some core belief systems, including Christianity, authoritative parenting, and patriarchy. With each stop along the way, my goal has been to take the good things and key learnings with me and strive to let them make me into a better citizen of the world.
Through all these changes, the one constant over the past 21 years has been my friendship and marriage/parenting partnership with Kelly. We both care deeply about making the best life decisions ourselves, and ETC is about the strong desire we also have to support others in their life decisions and changes.
Some other key parts of my life include: learning from and friendship with 3 teenagers who call me dad, running, playing beach volleyball, hiking, watching and following football (the real one), reading and walks by myself or with friends.