About

Me?
I teach, I write, I produce, I think…and I still dream about what I want to do when I grow up.

But my current day job has located me at a nice little, faith-based college in the middle of Western PA. And I did this for a while at another nice little school in the middle of Kentucky. Check back often though, I get restless…

That said, I like teaching. I like my students.

It’s become a bit of a national pastime to bash millennials, but honestly, the overwhelming majority of my students have been amazing human beings. They inspire me just about every day. I count many of them as friends and have hired more than a few to work on a variety of media projects with me. They have made every project much better than if I had worked on it alone, or with just people my own age.

After 30+ years, I get to teach in communications…and still work on some great projects, and for that I’m incredibly grateful. But most importantly, I’m thankful for the opportunities to continue tell my stories and to help others learn to tell their stories.

On the personal side, I’m also a father to four wonderful children, most are married. Their multi-tasking mother is an amazingly diligent and intelligent woman, a ninja organizer, communicator, marketer and mom, who can also lawyer up to win just about any dinner table legal case or house rules debate with any of her offspring. She’s there for them, 24×7, too.

I also have a large Rhodesian Ridgeback who thinks I’m a divinely special Alpha male. But the 1.5 cats around the place balance that perspective by treating me like I’m staff.

The “professional stuff,” is below but more info about my dog is further down. I know that’s what you are probably really looking for…

Education…well, the “official” degrees recognized by academia anyway: 

  • M.F.A., Narrative Media Writing, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Journalism, University of Georgia (Yep, I love me some UGA!)
  • B.A., Secondary Ed. for Speech / Drama, Asbury College
  • Additional language course work at Goethe Institut in Germany
  • Oh yeah, I went to night school for a course in black-and-white photography at North Georgia Tech

Areas of Supposed Expertise:

  • Documentary filmmaking
  • Screenwriting
  • Journalism
  • Photojournalism
  • Multimedia production
  • Media project management
  • Special events productions and promotions

Courses I’ve Taught:

  • Documentary Filmmaking
  • Video Production
  • Journalism
  • Media Criticism
  • Digital Photography
  • Script to Screen
  • Interactive Media
  • Writing for Media
  • Special Events Promotions and Production
  • The Cultural Influences of Mass Media
  • Advanced Newsgathering
  • Screenwriting
  • Media and Society
  • Senior Seminar

Some of My Favorite Projects:
(Psst, roll over the titles below to see if there is an active link…)

Professional Experience:

  • 30+ years of professional experience as a writer/producer/director working with the entertainment industry, education, government, non-profits and Fortune 500 companies.

Hobbies/Interests:

  • Films and documentaries (surprise!)
  • Sports
  • Anything outdoors
  • Photography
  • Bad poetry
  • Music…particularly Johnny Cash
  • Rhodesian Ridgebacks

Dog Info You Probably Scrolled Down For

Jambo (#1) (left) and Jamani (#2) (right)

For those of you who don’t know this…I love Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Why? These dogs were originally bred to help hunt lions––that’s how they got their name African Lion Dog. No, they did not kill lions. No dog would stand a chance against a lion, but get a team of these dogs together and they could distract any big beast with their crazy running and fake attacks. Thankfully, the days of hunting the big cats with these dogs passed and people soon realized the breed was excellent for livestock and families. Ridgebacks are a combination of European breeds and an African breed known as Hottentot. That’s where the ridge comes from…

Jalani (#3)…my friend, my late night writing partner, my walking wing man…

They are large, laid back hounds who often appear to be lazily indifferent, but once they get to hunting, chasing, playing or protecting––stand back. Be advised, they are world class counter surfers and no table in your house is high enough to keep them from swiping food off it. Oh yeah, if they bark in the middle of the night, better get up and see what it is. I can vouch for this trait from personal experience.

But the main reasons for my affection are their wonderful loyalty, bravery (except around vacuum cleaners), lovey dove nature…and goofiness. I’m on my third one now and like him about as much as my first two guys.

You might be surprised to know:

I have survived a fire, a flood, a snake bite and over 30 years of meetings.