My first economics course was during my first semester of college, while enrolled as an engineering major. Unexpectedly, economics, which has been known as the “dismal science,” hooked me. Economic theory inspired in me a deeper curiosity and desire to make sense of a complicated world, and I shuffled my plans and made economics my new major. Now, as an educator my aim is to nurture student’s curiosity and cultivate a set of skills to prepare them for life, work and citizenship grounded in a respect for others. I also believe that learning can occur nearly anywhere, whether it’s a traditional classroom, digitally, or in the field. My teaching philosophy was shaped by my experience as an outdoor educator and nearly two decades as a college teacher. Shortly after completing a graduate degree focused on environmental economics, my path led to a stint in experiential education including several years with the North Carolina Outward Bound School. In 2004 I began my career in higher education and have taught dozens of classes and hundreds of students of all ages at a range of institutions including UNC Asheville, in the NC Community College System, Western Carolina University, and now Warren Wilson College. Nearly three decades since my first econ course, as a teacher I’m still thrilled when students strike an interest in the subject and find meaning in ideas that are novel to them. My wife, Elizabeth, and I live in West Asheville where we’ve raised two teenage boys and where I engage in many hobbies from cycling to planting trees.
