I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, earning my Eagle Scout award in 2005 and graduating from North Hills High School in 2006. During my time in high school, I was active in the youth group of Glenshaw Presbyterian church, which included attending a mission trip repairing homes in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Those experiences had a profound impact on my faith. I graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor’s degree with three majors: History, Anthropology (Archaeology Focus), and Earth and Environmental Sciences; and a minor in Classical Civilization in 2010. I graduated from Yale University with a Master’s Degree in Archaeological Studies in 2011.

I started in a Ph.D. program at Penn State University in 2011, but transitioned into a teaching certificate program after meeting my wife and taking on the responsibilities of being a part time parent who was no longer willing to move beyond the local region around State College or western Pennsylvania (which would have been required to truly give me an opportunity for employment in academia). In August of 2014, I received a job offer to teach 7th Grade Social Studies at South Fayette Township Middle School, so my wife and our two kids moved to the Pittsburgh area, where we still live today. I taught there for two years and went through a variety of personal struggles unrelated to my personal life that included the death of my father, the spiraling of my sister into alcoholism from which she still hasn’t recovered, and my wife’s struggle with post-partum depression. The period of time that followed can fairly be described as a period of self-discovery that included starting a small business focused on tutoring and test-preparation for the SAT and AP Exams and then making an abrupt change in career direction by entering the world of finance.

Starting in 2017, I started on my adventure as a financial professional, getting licensed to sell Life Insurance in 2017, working for Northwestern Mutual from 2018 to 2020, starting my own practice at Merrill Lynch in 2020, then moving into my current role as a Financial Advisor for PNC Investments. I do not represent or speak on behalf of PNC Investments or any other organization when I engage in public speaking.