Co-Founder

I didn’t take the traditional path – not even close. In high school, I was a disengaged student dreaming of rock & roll stardom. And for a while, I chased that dream. But at 25, I pivoted to college and applied myself fully, graduating with a degree in accounting, and later my MBA.

I spent over two decades in corporate finance roles – Financial Analyst, Accountant, and more. From the outside, it looked like I was doing alright. Inside, I was slowly fading. By the early 2000s, I knew the work didn’t fit. My values, interests, and personality were out of sync with the environment around me. Despite trying to “tough it out,” I eventually found myself placed on a Performance Improvement Plan – and ultimately was let go. That was unsettling, but it also woke me up.

In 2012, I became a certified MBTI® practitioner, and in 2013 began a journey into the counseling world, eventually earning my Master’s in Counseling in 2017. Along the way, I discovered the powerful impact of trauma – especially Complex PTSD – and how much it affects how we show up in our work and in our lives.

After my own intensive healing journey during the COVID years, I felt called to help others find their way through disconnection, burnout, and self-doubt. Today, I bring together my experiences in corporate life, counseling, personality psychology, and trauma education to support others in discovering the same truth I found:

You are not broken. You’re just not where you’re meant to be – yet.

At Elevate Collective, I help people reconnect with who they are, find their voice again, and build a life that finally fits.

When I’m not coaching or deep in research, you’ll find me on the ice playing beer-league hockey with my brother. I’m also a married, proud dad of three adult children, and grandpa to a pretty amazing 4-year-old – a role that reminds me daily why healing, growth, and purpose matter so much.

Co-Founder

I’ve always been a helper at heart – drawn to the underdog, the misunderstood, and the people quietly struggling beneath the surface. I want to know what people are feeling, and counsel them through problems.  These are two of my God-given gifts - compassion and protectiveness. These instincts led me to study psychology in high school and college, thinking I’d become a shrink. But life threw me a curveball, and I ended up walking a very different path.

After leaving my first year of college disillusioned, I discovered a talent for technical drawing and followed in my dad’s footsteps into engineering. Along this path I met a girl, who was soon my wife, and we had kids right away and started our family. Again, God at work in my life.

I built a career, raised my family, and did what many people do – took the steady route, even though something inside me felt off. I was smart and capable, but unhappy and unfulfilled.  I bounced from job to job in quality engineering – roles I could do well but didn’t love. Beneath the surface was a constant tension, a quiet voice reminding me: This isn’t your calling.

Over the years, I explored teaching, writing, and coaching – any outlet that let me help others grow. A late-in-life Asperger’s diagnosis helped me finally make sense of my experiences and reconnected me with my true self: not a technical, quality/engineering-minded person, but someone who’s always been wired to listen to, support, and guide others.

Today, I coach others alongside my friend and Collective co-founder, Dave. I also help run my wife’s gymnastics studio and coach weightlifting – fitness being one of my great passions.

I’ve lived the long, winding path of self-discovery. God has led me through some fascinating situations - some great, and some not so much. But all intended for good, to grow and strengthen me. I know what it’s like to feel stuck, to wonder if this is really all there is.  Now, alongside my longtime friend and co-founder Dave, I’ve returned to my roots. At Elevate Collective, I’m here to help others cut through the noise and reconnect with who they really are—so they can live and work with purpose, not just obligation.