We are all a sum of our parts.
From my first job in the US Army Infantry
to my present position as a Director of Support Services -
every position has played a part in shaping me as a servant and a leader.
1985 - 1988
I have always had a deep desire to serve and protect. This was first made manifest in my decision to join the Army shortly after I graduated from high school. I wanted to serve my country and, if necessary, fight to protect others. I excelled in my training and moved rapidly through the enlisted ranks as I served as an Army Infantryman for two years in Germany.
1992 -1995
My first professional job after graduating with a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy was at Southwestern Mental Health Center, Inc., which has now become part of the Avera Health system. There I became involved as a generalist, serving a broad array of people struggling to make sense of the world. While much of my time was spent with students that I met with in day treatment programs, I was also drawn towards underserved populations. I looked at the prevalence of domestic abuse, personality disorders and childhood sexual assault, and felt compelled to improve my skills to serve both the victims and the perpetrators. Victims frequently found service, but perpetrators needed treatment as well, so I worked to address those needs within the community I served. Working with law enforcement, probation, social services and the courts, I offered group and individual therapy to this complex population. I additionally worked with first responders such as fire fighters, police and paramedics to improve their understanding of mental health concerns and how to work effectively to de-escalate volatile situations.
2002 - 2005
I assumed my first administrative position at Worthington Public Schools in southern Minnesota. The Special Programs Department had oversight of multiple programs including: special education, the area learning center, multi-lingual programming, a district-owned residential program for complex youth, research and assessment, special transportation and the local integration collaborative. During my leadership the district worked to enhance multi-lingual programming; we also improved community relationships within the most diverse community outside of the metropolitan area of Minnesota. We experimented and then implemented online learning programs with our area learning center - a decade before this was common practice - and trained a new generation of paraprofessionals to serve under the comprehensive guidelines of State and Federal Legislation.
2011 - 2014
This is where my story takes a turn, moving from a position serving smaller towns and cities outside of the metropolitan area, to serving the sixth largest district in the State of Minnesota, South Washington Public Schools. This change required me to refine my skills in working through middle managers to effectively oversee programming at 26 sites. Arriving at SoWashCo, I found the special education budget severely underfunded. I immediately went to work to restructure outside contracts, maximize state and local resources and look for ways to generate additional funding. Within months, I had freed up funding for extensive professional development opportunities to improve overall outcomes for the students served by my department. During my tenure we developed new programming in the areas of dyslexia, mental health, crisis response and social emotional learning. One of the greatest feats was creating a comprehensive 18-to-21-year-old program that was designed to meet the needs of all of our graduating students with transition needs. Leasing over 5,000 square feet at a local mini mall, I asked my team to dream big and to let me worry about covering the cost! The program was ready to serve students ages 16-to-21 within 10 months, with a state-of-the-art curriculum and a facility uniquely designed to meet the needs of our learners.
During this time I also began teaching more; I worked as adjunct faculty at St. Mary's University in St. Paul and at St. Cloud State University. I enjoyed the process of giving back and have, over the years, mentored a large group of aspiring directors.
Finally, during this period my wife and I established our LLP, J&C Consulting, as I was speaking more and more in the areas of adult and children's mental health, parenting, and providing trainings to other school districts on Teacher Child Interaction Training. I also provide consultative services to other districts on everything from mental health, crisis management, fiscal, staff and budgetary management, and methods for enhancing teacher-student relationships.
1988 - 1992
Returning from my post in Germany, I began my college education. While going to school full-time and continuing to serve in the Army National Guard, I began another form of service -- working in direct service roles with children and adults identified with physical and cognitive disabilities. I loved this work, but I also learned so much about my biases. In the beginning I thought I was helping them to grow and achieve their life goals, but more significant was the learning and the benefits that I myself experienced. I wasn't simply helping disabled children and adults, I was helping children and adults who were teaching me far more than I could ever hope to teach them. Thank you, Dylan, Jamie, Jeremy, Ricky, Larry, Shawn, Frank, Todd, Larry, Denise and Desirae. You poured more into to my life than I did into yours.
1995 - 2002
My work as a Marriage and Family Therapist had me working in schools regularly and I found a passion in working with children to interrupt the progression of mental health conditions early. I went back to school and became a School Psychologist, which was not a profession I fully understood until entering completely into the field. While the term "psychologist" definitely encompasses therapeutic practice, it broadened my capacity to include assessment and problem-solving based on data. This period in my professional growth helped me to see the world and my practice in a completely different light. I also began teaching at the local community college at this time to share my knowledge of psychology and childhood development with a new generation of educators. During my time as a School Psychologist and adjunct teacher, I grew in my understanding of how our educational system is designed, how it is geared towards serving some better than others and how its design can systemically limit and harm students that do not fit that design model. I found that teachers were not unwilling to change but simply did not know how. I observed that when offered the correct tools and time to master and implement those tools, teachers were overjoyed with their new ability to reach those students they had failed in the past. This insight, more than any other, pushed me to pursue my administrative credential.
2005 - 2011
I transitioned to Alexandria Public Schools in the hopes of focusing more of my time and efforts on special education. My work at Alexandria Public Schools encompassed the financial management of the Runestone Area Education District, which served the neighboring cities of Brandon, Evansville, Osakis, Minnewaska and Parkers Prairie. My position focused largely on the development of special education programming for students birth through age 21. As a regional school, Alexandria was a location that served the larger outstate community in the areas of low incident disabilities and additionally served the most complex students in the region. My position evolved to incorporate early intervention services and Alexandria quickly grew to become a state leader in educational and social emotional programming. Working with DePaul University, I led a small team in Alexandria that designed a behavioral coaching model of service for teachers. Through direct coaching, we used that model to enable teachers to master behavioral techniques in a fraction of the time required by more conventional means. This model, called TCIT (Teacher Child Interaction Training), has been proven repeatedly to transform student-teacher relationships.
Educationally, I established an intervention model that focused dually on supplemental content and highly specialized programming designed to effectively address the underlying processing concerns expressed by students in intervention.
2014 - present
I currently serve as the Director of Student Support Services at Edina Public Schools. I oversee the programmatic areas of Special Education, Health Services, COVID Response and Management, Mental Health and Wellness, 504 Compliance, Homeless Highly Mobile, Dyslexia Services and Crisis Preparedness and Response.
I serve on the District's Legislative Action Committee and am also a Tri-chair of the Minnesota Administrators of Special Education legislative sub-committee.
During my time in Edina I have established one of the highest functioning Special Education Advisory Committees in the the State of Minnesota. Embracing the belief that together we can make things better, I have worked to elevate parent voices in the design of our program.
During my tenure I have overseen the development of a comprehensive system of mental health services for students. Weaving multiple funding sources together including state, federal, city and local funds raised by the Edina Education fund, we have established a co-located mental health model that is self-sustaining and serves all students regardless of their ability to pay.
Together with my team of exceptional educators and leaders, we have encouraged and funded the Unified movement that works to close the relationship and understanding gap between our students with and without disabilities. Our providers have been nationally recognized for their work with one of our schools achieving Unified Champion status. Our inclusive theater program, Theater for All, has also been recognized nationally, as have our adaptive and unified sports programs.
During this time I have also found a new focus and avenue through which I can effect change -- through the legislative process. I became aware of the need to revise a certain piece of legislation that did not consider the ongoing needs of our special education students. I offered to testify in front of the House Committee to discuss the impact of the legislation on our learners. Intrigued by the process, I have become more and more active in the process of reaching out to legislators and assisting with the authorship and introduction of new legislation. I have worked with various stakeholder groups over the course of the last five legislative sessions to refine the language in bills impacting the administration, service and funding of special education and related services for the State of Minnesota.
Consulting & Speaking
Some of the organizations that I have worked with
FIVE OAKS CHURCH
