Born and raised in Ohio, I have lived in Montana for thirty years. I obtained my undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton in 1980 with a BA in Photography and Fine Arts, and minors in English and Religious Studies. I came to Montana as a Jesuit Volunteer, and worked as the Director of a Residential Youth Treatment program for Native American Youth in Eastern Montana until attending law school at the University of Montana, graduating in 1992.
In nearly twenty years of public service law, I have been a prosecutor, county attorney, and an appellate defender. I have submitted numerous briefs to the Montana Supreme Court, and currently am a disability and civil rights lawyer.