During a fishing excursion in the boonies of Alaska, I crashed a dirt bike over a steep embankment. The broken ribs, torn diaphragm, and bruised kidney and lung almost cost me my life. It was a wake up call most people never want to answer. But the phone kept ringing. And when I answered, my purpose in life changed.

I reversed my priorities and decided to redirect my heart, passion, and all my business experience to help feed hungry children. The result has been the creation of Aspen Research, and the Blaine County Hunger Coalition.

I believe we as a nation have a responsibility to help the needy, especially hungry children. They are the most helpless population, but the most hopeful. I believe that providing basic food security to children lays the cornerstone on which needy children can avoid the consequences undernutrition can have on their behavior and scholastic performance as kids, and economic security as adults.

If our country wants a vibrant economy and our communities want to remain connected, I believe we must support networks and agencies that acquire and distribute food to needy children. I also believe we should support agencies that help families move from dependency to self-sufficiency. I hope you'll join me in an effort to support these charities.

Education
University of Wisconsin–Madison: Bachelor of Science degree in journalism, with an emphasis in business, food science, and nutrition. Graduated as one of the few students in the history of the University to receive a four-year degree in less than two years. Graduated with honors. Winner of the Consumer Science department's Outstanding Student Achievement Award for journalism. Nominated for Returning Adult Student of the Year award. Returning grade point average: 3.90.

Independent Study:
University of California–San Diego: Computer Science and Management Science.
Harvard University: Business and Economics.

Skills and Experience
Project management and special projects. (Experience: 15 years). Proven ability to tackle complicated and undesirable special projects. Thorough understanding of how to assemble, lead, and motivate large project teams. Willing to take initiative and make sacrifices to achieve success, especially when time and resources are scarce. Ability to manage and coordinate multiple projects and tasks in fast-paced, chaotic environments. Enjoy the challenge of finding solutions to difficult problems. Start-up experience: 10 years involving four companies.

Market, business, and investment research. (Experience: 15 years). Proven ability to identify, research, evaluate, and analyze markets, industries, products, and trends. Detailed experience on how to conduct company due diligence, analyze business plans, evaluate business models, data mine, assess management competency, and scrutinize financial statements. Experience on how to set up competitive intelligence departments. Thorough understanding of economic principles, stock markets, and investing. Former stock options trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Sales and business development. (Experience: 18 years). Exceptional understanding of how to build trust and nurture customer relationships to exceed sales goals. Proven ability to quickly build a sales or business development department, analyze industry and competitive marketplaces, establish a sales plan, train a staff, and generate revenue. Experience with large national accounts having long-lead sales cycles. Proven ability to negotiate quickly, firmly, and fairly. Clear understanding of how to conduct business due diligence in order to determine the benefits and risks of a deal.

Technical and business writing. (Experience: 18 years). Author of two books. Hold a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in business. Proven ability to write quality business documents such as business plans, business proposals, white papers, private placement memoranda, news releases, brochures, research reports, term sheets, business requirements, business newsletters, contracts, direct mail pieces, and advertising copy. Able to communicate complex ideas and issues in easy-to-understand formats to a variety of audiences.

Software and hardware. (Experience: 20 years). Possess an aptitude for learning software programs and hardware systems. Very good working knowledge of the latest versions of Windows, Excel, Project, Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Vision. Also, working knowledge of QuickBooks, PageMaker, Illustrator, ACT!2000, LexisNexis, Dialog, and Factiva. Programming experience includes Pascal, C, Basic, and some HTML. Exceptionally Internet-savvy.

Lifestyle

Residence:	Sun Valley, Idaho.
Hometown:	Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Hobbies:	Cooking, baking, traveling to remote mountain ranges, reading, puzzles, backgammon, cribbage, and Blues harmonica.
Sports:	Rock Climbing, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, tennis, fly-fishing, hiking, camping, windsurfing, golfing, skiing, and snowshoeing.
Author:	Lite'n Up! and Bread of Life.

Volunteer work:

• Founder and honorary board member, Blaine County Hunger Coalition.
• Volunteer at soup kitchens and food banks wherever I travel.
• Church related volunteer work.
• Public speaking at high schools and universities about the experience of being a stock options trader on the floor of a major stock exchange.
• Public speaking at vocational colleges to returning adult students about strategies for overcoming fears and achieving success.
• Teaching community classes on healthy living and cooking.