I first came to Fairbanks a month after my nineteenth birthday, 15 years ago, as an Army Infantry Soldier stationed at Ft. Wainwright. I volunteered to deploy to Iraq in early 2007 and served as a machine gunner in the 3-509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. I fought in Karmah, Fallujah, and Northern Babil Province where I was wounded in combat in August of 2007. In December of that year, I returned to Alaska with the last of the brigades paratroopers.  

 

Soon after my return I met my wife, Naomi, in Fairbanks We celebrated our 13th anniversary on the 20th of December 2021.We are blessed to have two amazing daughters: one-year-old Abigail and four-year-old Amelia. I left the army after my last tour to Iraq (09-10), during which  I served as the youngest infantry squad leader in my battalion, charged with leading 10 soldiers throughout Mosul and the Nineveh Plains.

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Professionally, I have had the opportunity to work in the health insurance industry, in employee benefits, as a licensed agent. My career has allowed me to travel all over rural Alaska to dozens of communities from Unalaska to Anaktuvuk pass. As a small business owner I know what it takes to make payroll. Traveling all over the state has given me unique insight into how employers and employees struggle to approach the rising costs of health care in Alaska.