My Story
30 Years of Building.
Now Teaching.
From a DOS manual in the 1980s to leading enterprise infrastructure for a top pediatric health system — and now helping people overcome their fear of AI. This is the story behind the practice.
The DOS Manual
My mother was a legal secretary. The lawyer she worked for bought one of the first personal computers — and nobody knew what to do with it. She handed me a DOS manual and a BASIC programming book and told me to figure it out. I did. That curiosity never left.
The Flight Deck
Before I had a title, I had a flight deck. Twelve years in the Navy — across three aircraft carriers — taught me how to lead teams of 30+ under pressure that doesn't forgive hesitation. I became a Disbursing Clerk, but I was always the one people pulled aside to fix the computer. Honor, Courage, and Commitment weren't slogans painted on a bulkhead. They became the operating system I still run on.
Classified Systems & Federal Infrastructure
After earning my B.S. in Information Systems Technology from Southern Illinois University, I joined Lockheed Martin. Over six years I progressed from Systems Administrator on a classified program to Windows Engineering Team Lead overseeing 12 engineers — while also serving as VMware SME on the HUD HITS contract and contributing to $200M+ contract bids.
The VMware Detour
For nine months I stepped away from Lockheed to deliver VMware Professional Services consulting to civilian and government clients through Infinite Group. It sharpened a skill set I would carry for the rest of my career.
Global Scale at Accenture
Nine years. Two phases. First as an infrastructure cloud consultant delivering engagements with the IRS and PHH Mortgage. Then as Business & Technology Senior Delivery Manager — leading the global virtualization team that consolidated 17 data centers down to 10, managing 16 to 32 engineers distributed across India, Argentina, London, Germany, Ohio, and Chicago.
Oracle
Before joining Children's National full-time, I came in as an Oracle contractor in August 2023. Three enterprise names — Lockheed Martin, Accenture, and Oracle — before landing where I am today. The contract converted to a direct hire in December 2023.
Children's National Hospital
Today I oversee data center and infrastructure operations for one of the nation's top pediatric health systems — leading a 15-engineer Tier 3 team through the organization's enterprise migration from Oracle Cerner to Epic. The mission is different. The discipline is the same.
The Chapter I'm Most Excited About
After 30 years of building the infrastructure that powers organizations, I've turned my focus to something more personal: helping people who are intimidated by AI learn to use it confidently. Not the hype. Not the fear. Just practical, human-centered education that meets people where they are and shows them what's actually possible.
Why This Matters
"I'm not afraid of AI. But I understand why you might be."
Every major technology shift in the last 30 years — virtualization, cloud, mobile, automation — came with the same fear: this will replace me. It never did. What it did was separate the people who learned to use it from the people who waited too long. AI is no different. I've been through every one of those shifts. Let me help you get ahead of this one.
The Work
What a coaching session actually looks like
We start with the tool you want to use — Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or whichever one you've heard about. I explain what it's actually good at, what it isn't, and why the difference matters for your specific work.
Then we build your prompting foundation — not generic tips from a blog post, but a structured framework tailored to how you think and what you do every day.
Finally, we work through a real task together. You bring something you're actually stuck on. We solve it using AI. You leave with something tangible — and the confidence to keep going on your own.
Tool Selection
We identify the right AI tool for your work and explain the practical differences between them.
Prompting Framework
I teach you a structured method for writing prompts that actually get useful, reliable results.
Real Work
You bring a real task. We solve it together using AI. You leave with something tangible.
Ready to Start?
You don't have to figure this out alone.
Book a 60-minute AI Kickstart session and walk away with a clear understanding of the tools, a prompting framework built for your work, and the confidence to use AI every day.