Why I'm Running (continued)
I’m running because working families in Tennessee’s 6th District are getting steamrolled while billionaires buy policy behind closed doors. Because our schools are underfunded, our healthcare system is broken, and our rights are being auctioned off one vote at a time.
I’m not a career politician. I’m not backed by corporate donors or political machines. I’m running this campaign the only way I know how, with transparency, honesty, and a promise to show up.
We need representation that listens, not lectures. That serves, not sells out. I’m not running to represent one side of the aisle. I’m running to represent every person in this district who’s been ignored, written off, or told to wait their turn.
This is our turn. We are the change.
My Story
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I grew up in Illinois and Kentucky, enlisting in the Navy after graduating from Ohio County High School in Hartford, KY. While in boot camp I was selected for meritorious advancement, and on completion I was trained and served as an Electronics Technician on the east coast. While serving I was awarded an ROTC scholarship, which made it possible for me to earn a degree in civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University. I was commissioned by the Navy upon graduation in 2005.
I fell in love with Tennessee while at Vanderbilt, so after completing my service in the Navy I returned to the state. I worked briefly selling computers but then became an efficiency engineer with the TVA EnergyRight program. My job was to help people and businesses lower their utility bills by using energy more efficiently. After my time in the Navy this was my first time working in public service. Beyond saving people money, energy efficiency is an important answer to the challenge of climate change that is producing unprecedented weather disasters.
I then joined the Tennessee State Park Ranger Service, attending the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy in 2016. I saw first hand how Tennessee's parks give people a place to breathe deeply, reflect and find peace. As a Ranger I saw folks from all walks of life find something they need in the woods and fields of Tennessee. Tennessee's state parks are one of the greatest ways our government has worked to improve our quality of life.
While working as a park ranger from 2015 to 2021 I was busy both raising a family and earning a master's degree in public safety from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. I married Bethany in 2009, and we have three young children; I also have an adult son.
After attending TTU I was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship, which allowed me to continue working in public service. This program saw me working in the U.S. Departments of State and Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
I know that the federal government can be more efficient, but I also know that it is -- or was -- filled with talented, dedicated people who are committed to serving you, our fellow citizens, as I am. Our government is not and should not be run like a business for the benefit of a few rich owners, but as a service for the benefit of all.