Science, Science Department Chair

I received my Bachelor of Science from Tufts University. After graduation, I pursued my dream of winning a national championship in ultimate Frisbee (my team finished fourth in the country two years in a row). During that time I supported myself working as a shoe company executive, an executive recruiter in the data processing field, and a painting contractor. After seeing an article in the LA Times about the need for math and science teachers, I went back to Tufts to get my MA in secondary education and earned my teaching credential. During student teaching, I fell in love with being in the classroom and remember being surprised and thrilled that I was actually going to be paid for doing what I loved to do (as student teachers don’t get paid)!

After teaching for two years at the Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, my wife and I moved to the San Francisco Bay area. I participated in the WEDGE project, an AIDS education unit sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. In 1989 I  joined The Marin School.

I love teaching at TMS because of the close bonds that I forge with my students. I also love the fact that I’m encouraged to be creative in the classroom and to “think outside of the box”. I am always experimenting with new methods and techniques to help the students see that science is and will be a huge part of their lives. I love the feeling that you get when you turn someone on to science – or school, and particularly love getting my students out of the classroom where they can really appreciate the natural world.

I have been influenced by many people – from the quick wits of Gabe Kaplan (of “Welcome Back Kotter”) and Robin Williams, to the encyclopediac knowledge of the intertidal zone of Professor Al Molina of COM. Perhaps those who most influenced me were my own teachers who showed their humanity in the classroom and helped to make school a better place for everyone.

In my spare time I enjoy mountain biking, fishing, cooking, basketball, traveling, and spending time with my family at the beach.

Science core classes and Science elective classes