Greetings,
I’m a Research Associate Professor with the Military Health and Readiness Consortium (MiHRC) at the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). My work focuses on understanding health and wellness through behavioral and psychological perspectives, with a special interest in strength-based approaches that help organizations thrive while reducing suicide risk—especially among military service members, Veterans, and Native Veterans.
Beyond my research, I support the Vice Chancellor for Research at UAF in building partnerships with the Department of Defense and other national security organizations. I also collaborate with the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience (CASR) to explore the unique challenges and opportunities of national security in the Arctic, particularly for special operations forces working in extreme conditions.
My academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Educational Psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, along with master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (University of Missouri–St Louis) and International Relations (University of Connecticut). I also earned my B.A. from UConn, where I focused on technologies for developing countries and the Global South.
In addition to serving in academia, I retired from the U.S. Army, where I was privileged to work as a Special Forces Soldier on an operational detachment and an Intelligence Officer within several special operations organizations. My final military assignment had me serving Alaskan Command at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) as a Native liaison between the Department of Defense and federally recognized tribes.
Today, I live in Interior Alaska with my family. I’m proud to be raising twin daughters in the Alaskan way of life and to support my wife in her dedicated service to Soldiers, Army civilians, and their families on Ft Wainwright, Alaska.