While born in Omaha, the land of my parents and many relatives and Creighton U ties, I grew up mostly in Milwaukee until I was 8 (my dad was on Marquette's law faculty '59-65), then in San Diego, which my mom still calls home and I love to visit. I'm the oldest of 8 kids!  Currently 5 live in the various regions of the West Coast, 2 in Midwest, and 1 in Maryland.  All are a bit over-educated, with 9 of 10 of us previously or currently in the teaching field (including both parents).   

Grad school at UC Berkeley -- experiences included great friendships, youth ministry counselor/leader at Holy Spirit Newman Center, hoops, backpacking, sailing/windsurfing, and triathlons.  And a great research environment. My advisor, Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Stark, passed away in 2004 - I'm part of a large community of former students who learned a lot from him about science and living, and miss him.

My kids: Sandy (3/86), Janelle (8/87), and John (9/90).  Sandy is a junior at the University of Maryland (double-majoring in psychology & anthropology) and Janelle is a sophomore at University of Wisconsin - Madison (double majoring in biology and history of science). John is a well-rounded, active junior in high school who is now my height and probably still growing.

I coached over two dozen youth sports teams during the 90s, mostly soccer but some baseball and basketball, and for a few years was Commissioner of Takoma Park Neighborhood Youth Soccer.

Picture with daughters Sandy and Janelle in Innsbruck Austria (August 2006) [I'm on a small step - they are actually only about 4' shorter than me]

Personal memberships / groups that I support