About Me

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I used to be a lawyer, but I got better!

For 10 years, I was the Culture/Employee Experience Manager for a luxury resort developer in Breckenridge, Colorado. I held various titles, but my core responsibility was helping the organization better understand and improve their culture, employee recruiting and retention, and leadership development.

In 2018, my employer was recognized by the Denver Post as the #1 large workplace in Colorado, based on anonymous survey feedback from thousands of employees statewide. In 2023, 2024 and again in 2025, we were recognized as a national Top Workplace by USA Today, including Culture Excellence awards in Leadership, Innovation, Purpose & Values, and Compensation & Benefits.

Beginning in 2023, I led the company's recruiting, onboarding, talent development, employee engagement, and inclusion programs. My team greatly improved language equity for the company's many Spanish-speaking employees. I also worked to ensure the company's compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and related job post requirements. Those efforts helped us remain at 95% or better of ideal staffing companywide. We closed 2024 99% fully staffed, with a headcount of 650+ employees in a small mountain community.

Here's the key thing I learned during my years as a culture manager: successful cultures are authentic cultures. Whether they number five or 5000, your employees have an industrial-strength BS detector. What kills cultures? A lack of authenticity! Your culture has to reflect who and what you really are. If you don't live up to the slogans on the wall, it's all noise.  My process starts with helping you better understand the culture you have, so you can create the culture you want. I can deliver a transformative keynote, facilitate a workshop, or offer ongoing consulting. I adapt to your needs.

In 2022, I earned designation as a Marcus Buckingham Love + Work Leader. I'm also a graduate of the Impact Eleven speaker bootcamp. I'm a good researcher, evaluator, and synthesizer of information, as well as an engaging speaker, writer and teacher. I enjoy using humor to deliver a message effectively. I wouldn't kid you about that!

I was born in Indiana, but my early school years were in southwest Michigan.  My family moved to Texas, back to Michigan, and then back to Texas.  I think there may have been another stop in Indiana during those years, but I can't remember for sure. I was in seven different schools before I finished 8th grade! Always the new kid. Looking back, that's when I learned how to adapt to new cultures. I am a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas Plan II liberal arts honors program. I earned my J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and practiced in Austin until 2009. I was among the first group of lawyers to achieve board certification in Texas workers’ compensation law. Our firm represented employers all over that big state. More cultures to navigate! Eventually, I left Texas due to legal trouble. After more than 20 years as a litigator, I was having trouble remembering why I wanted to be a lawyer.

My wife Tracy and I moved to Summit County, Colorado in 2009. We now live in Breckenridge with Macy, our energetic shelter rescue dog, and Oberon, a fancy-pants Ragdoll kitty. Before I joined the hospitality industry, I was a small-business owner, part of the team that opened the first Whole Foods Market in Summit County, and a guide for historic saloon tours and snowshoe hikes. I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Breckenridge History. It's been an interesting ride so far!

Want to find out how I can help you understand the culture you have and create the culture you want? Reach out. Let's create an authentic culture that actually works!