About me
As a creative problem solver I'm fascinated by emerging technologies and driven by curiosity. What can we do better?
My focus is on using media and marketing for positive disruption, to address significant problems and shift destructive trends. At the top of the list are climate change, plastic waste, and the downsides of public education.
Every problem is an opportunity for innovation and a myriad of business opportunities. Nothing is more worthwhile than using our creative powers to solve the problems we have collectively caused. Can we really justify passing them on to our children?
Unplastix.com sources products made and packaged to reduce plastic waste. Each item is practical proof that we can meet our needs without trashing the planet.
Plastic waste is public enemy #2, second only to climate change. And they are inextricable linked by our addiction to fossil fuel. Big Oil is pushing and profiting from plastics more than ever before. It’s up to us to make it clear that the health of our planet is more important than the profits of Big Oil.
I created Unplastix.com to empower consumers to help the planet and bend the market. By switching to Unplastix we do what we can as individuals to reduce plastic waste. Collectively, we inform companies that we want products designed and packaged with the planet in mind. When enough of us make the switch large companies will get the message that it’s on all of us to save our planet from the scourge of plastic waste.
As an educator I'm driven to make teaching and learning a joyful exploration
I teach creative technology and marketing classes that have included Graphic Design, Movie Making, Publishing, Business and Marketing, and Language Arts.
My approach is as student-centered as possible. Intrinsic motivation comes first. What students want drives their curiosity and creativity. My job as a teacher is easy if a student is motivated from within.
Why education reform isn't working
The most insidious outcome of decades of education reform is standardization driven by standardized testing. This factory approach ignores one very important fact. Children are not standardized. Each is unique, as all parents know. We are systematically killing the intrinsic motivation that comes from celebrating their differences and natural curiosity.
Teachers are not to blame. We are required to meet testing requirements tied to school funding and our evaluations. Nobody I know likes these tests or finds them valuable. There are far better ways to measure student progress that don’t subject children to the stress and humiliations of standardized testing.
I consider myself lucky that most of what I teach is not tested. This has given me the freedom to engage students by encouraging exploration and eliminating the notion of failure.
All my students have the freedom to explore what interests them. I help them develop skills to use in their creative process. As their skills develop they discover that their capacity to create is limitless. If I’m doing my job right their intrinsic motivation is always in play and driving them forward. The imagination of each student just needs tools, techniques, and encouragement to bring its ideas to life.
I believe that we can solve all the environmental and social problems we’ve caused by focussing the full force of our imaginations and intelligence upon them. We should be educating our children to do this rather than narrowing the focus of education to what can be standardized and tested.
Producer-Writer-Director-Etc
Resume
Website & Content Design
2009-present
Beach Street Creative, Ventura CA
Flying Lula Productions, Seattle WA
Designing websites, creating their content, and using social media to build engagement. Recently launched Unplastix.com.
Teaching • Education Leadership
2022-present
Valley Oak Charter School , Ojai CA
Teaching creative technology classes to K-12 students. Classes include Minecraft, Graphic Design, Movie Making
2016-2022
Ingraham High School International, Seattle WA
Chair of Business Department. Taught IB Business and Management, Marketing, Social Media Marketing and Advertising, Graphic Design, Yearbook, Language Arts. Created Certificate programs in Business & Marketing, and Computer Science.
2011-2015
School Board Director, Seattle Public Schools
Publicly elected to oversee policy, operations, finances, management, curriculum and instruction of the largest school district in WA. Served as President and Vice President. Spearheaded shift to later start times for teens, and green building standards for new construction.
TV Writer • Producer • Director
2000-2016
Documentaries, promos, feature film development
Santa Monica CA & Seattle WA
Wrote, produced, directed documentaries and promotional videos for artists, schools, colleges, and non-profits. Artists included John Duff (shown at Guggenheim Museum) and Costas Varotsos (shown internationally). Co-founded Rogue Dreams Entertainment to develop feature and documentary films.
1990-2000
Direct Response
- Guthy Renker
- Hawthorne Direct
- Script to Screen
- Williams TV
- Frederiksen TV
- and many others
Wrote, produced, directed more than 50 infomercials and direct response ads. Clients included Time-Life, Ron Popeil, Victoria Principal and many others.
1984-1989
Corporate TV
Citicorp/Citibank, Oakland CA
Wrote, produced, directed scores of training and motivational videos for employees at all levels, in California and nationwide.
Degrees & Certficates
MA, English Education
New York University
Certified to teach English, grades 7-12
BA, Communication Studies
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Certified to teach Speech-Drama, grades k-12
Certificates & Workshops
- • CTE Teaching Certificate, South Seattle College
- • Interactive Web Design Certificate, Shoreline College
- • Writing for Children Certificate, University of WA
- • Film Directing Workshops, James Pasternak
- • Writing for Film & TV Seminar, Robert McKee