Current Role
English Language Arts instructor in the state of Alaska
Developing a data-science portfolio in an effort to obtain freelance projects as a data-driven storyteller
Lifelong artist, author, and storyteller
Experience
English Language Arts Teacher
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
August 2025 – Present
- Taught students grades six through eight in the art of the English Language
- Additional topics taught included: History, Geography, and Drama
- Used Montessori-style classroom-management strategies to provide students with an environment conducive to learning
- Built relationships and rapport with middle-school students
- Developed unique Montessori-style curriculum, allowing students to elect their own learning strategy
- Provided differentiated instruction across a wide range of learning styles
- Regularly communicated in-person and online with other staff members
- Out of my passion for data science and analytics, developed a proof-of-concept system that used Python and generative large-language models to automate various aspects of the student-essay editing process
- Managed classroom technology needs, including 3D-printer projects
- Provided producer-style leadership for the annual eighth-grade student play
- Our student play generated several thousand dollars in fundraising, which allowed the eighth-grade class to travel to Dallas, TX as a part of their graduation from middle school
Alaska Gateway School District
August 2024 – May 2025
- Taught students grades six through eight in the art of the English Language
- Used CHAMPS classroom-management strategies to provide a positive learning environment with clear expectations
- In alignment with the district’s curriculum and the State of Alaska’s educational standards, developed a unique implementation of the Amplify English Language Arts program
- Built custom online courses using the Instructure Canvas platform for organizational and efficiency purposes
- Created scripts using Python and local-language artificial intelligence models (LLMs) to generate customized worksheets, quizzes, and tests
- Co-taught an extracurricular technology class for high-school students
- This class introduced foundational concepts in programming, LLM and other generative-artificial intelligence models, 3D printing, and robotics
- Taught an extracurricular Creative Writing course for middle-school students
- This course focused on creating an environment where students can learn to love writing, reading, and being creative
- As a supplement, the course explored generative-artificial intelligence as a means of creative skill building
- Led a reading-intervention class (RTI) to provide extra support for approximately ten middle-school students
Reading Interventionist
Yukon-Koyukuk School District
August 2023 – July 2024
- Provided explicit instruction based on the UFLI reading-intervention curriculum to elementary students
- Traveled to remote Alaskan villages on a bimonthly basis to provide onsite support
- Conducted biweekly data-driven assessment to ascertain student needs
- Contacted parents on a monthly basis with printed data visualizations showing their children’s progress
- Over the course of the year, all classes taught showed significant improvement in DIBELS assessment scores
Research Assistant
University of Alaska – Fairbanks
January 2023 – July 2023
- Developed C++/Python scripts to gather and visualize data from a mining robot intended for extraterrestrial deployment
Stay-At-Home Father
Fairbanks, AK
July 2020 – June 2022
- Served as a full-time father for my two children during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Developed interpersonal and leadership skills in the context of working with adolescents
Senior Technical Writer and Junior Programmer
Komodo Platform
September 2017 – June 2020
- A primary co-author of the Komodo Whitepaper
- This ninety-three-page document formed the basis for the internal company vision and the external marketing narrative
- Authored, edited, and co-edited hundreds of pages of technical documentation
- Performed common, simple developer tasks: set up and maintained a Vuepress documentation website, managed Github repositories and test servers, and created basic C++ scripts for workflow automation
Technical Support
TimeClick Software
June 2016 – November 2016
- Provided customer service, sales, and technical support for TimeClick software
- 50% sales closing rate on final month
- Average closing rate over 25%
Adjunct Professor
Utah Valley University: August 2014 – December 2015
Brigham Young University: January 2016 – April 2016
- Developed curriculum for class sizes of fifteen to twenty students
- Topics included foundational design, and advanced entertainment design
Owner
Independent Illustration, Creative Writing, and Technical Writing
April 2004 – July 2020
- Author/illustrator of Westly: A Spider’s Tale (2015, Shadow Mountain Publishing)
- Recipient, Kirchoff/Wohlberg Award (New York Society of Illustrators)
Business Assistant
Richard Solomon—Artists Representative
April 2007 – February 2009
- Tasks included networking and managing transition from traditional to digital media
- Sourced 20 million free advertising impressions via corporate networking
BYU Auxiliary Services
Brigham Young University
Summer 2003 – Fall 2005
- Employee of the Year (2005)
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts: Illustration
- Brigham Young University – 2007
Master of Arts in Teaching: English Education
- Western Governor’s University – 2025