I was born in New Jersey but spent my more formative years in Vermont and I still call it home. I grew up in Shelburne, a suburb of Burlington, located on the “Great” Lake Champlain. I have five wonderful brothers and sisters who are now spread along the East Coast.

I attended a small liberal arts college, Saint Michael's College, for undergraduate studies. Within this seemingly tranquil campus there are numerous professors "spreading the spirit" of academic inquiry as fast as wildfires travel in the west. Among them was Professor William Grover who acted as my mentor and started me on this long journey into academia.

The first time I left Vermont I went to Washington DC to work on the "Hill" for the one and only Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders. Needless to say, it was a shocking change. While in Washington I worked on a piece of legislation that proposed major labor law reform. It never made it to the house for a vote but did succeed in raising the topic for discussion. I left Washington and ventured into the coal mining hills of Pennsylvania to do some organizing with 1199P.

My travels continued and took me across the oceans to the "Land of the Morning Sun" (Korea). I lived and worked in South Korea for almost three years during which time I witnessed the largest general strike since the 1940’s and the Asian Financial Crisis. I finally decided it was time to return home and start my graduate career. I knew that I wanted to study labor issues within the international context so my dog (Behong) and I made the long journey across the ocean and arrived in Ithaca, NY in the middle of winter. East Asia remains, and will remain, a part of my life forever. I have returned there to conduct field research for both my Masters and my PhD.

Currently, I reside in a equally interesting place, the city of brotherly love (Philadelphia). I live with my fiancé Marcin Szczepanski, who is a photographer, and my Korean dog, Behong. We live in a slowly gentrifying neighborhood about five blocks from the largest urban park in the United States. All three of us love the city and the neighborhood. We are involved with a community garden, "Master Works", the neighborhood community organization, and politics (we volunteered for Haile Johnston).