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Occupation:

Technology Applied Research Supervisor for Ford Credit

Educational Background:

BS Cognitive PS/Computing, Masters Computational Linguistics & AI - Wayne State.   Graduate of Macomb Community College; went on to complete both Bachelors and Masters at Wayne. Summa Cum Laude at Wayne including tutoring Chemistry, CompSci, and Linguistics.  Student teacher of Adult Ed at Roseville High (Computer Programming).

My Family:

Kim, my wife, is a Physician Liaison for Ascension St John; Kids: Kristen is a scientist and outreach specialist at Michigan Science Center; Bradley is a Senior at Fraser HS and in the MCC Early College Program; Nolan is a Junior at Fraser HS & First in his class; Annaliese is almost 2 and happy and super smart.

Professional Experience:

Supervisor of Applied Tech Research at Ford Credit, and IT Tech Specialist in AI / NLP at Ford.  Responsible for uplifting/retraining of IT staff for the company in future technologies (Democratizing Artificial Intelligence).  Previously team leader at Compuware, including Detroit Medical Center IT Supervisor.

Relevant Experience:

10 years of mentoring and leading high school and college interns at Ford IT in Advanced Technology.  5 years of STEM outreach including middle school and high school career guidance and demos.  Teaching at Michigan Science Center for Scouts merit badges.

I am a product of MCC, which allowed me to learn in a traditional college setting in my "own backyard" but also acted as a stepping stone toward going on to my Masters Degree at Wayne State.   Along the way, I used what I learned to tutor others, both at school and at work.  My involvement in STEM outreach, high school and college intern supervisor as well as mentor for 10 years has been a mainstay of my educational efforts at work.  This is now unfolding into leading retraining our IT staff at Ford Credit in new technologies so that we can leverage their knowledge of business and the world while boosting their value which gives back to the company -- a true win-win situation.    I have been a thoughtful leader in education and instilled these ideals in my children.   Have risen to multiple leadership positions while earning my degrees at the same time as working 40+ hours per week, so, I appreciate the opportunities of MCC and wish to see them flourish.

Biggest Challenge for MCC:

Increasing tuition and books costs make education prohibitive for many students who turn to MCC as their way toward a brighter future.   The board should look for more opportunities to partner with local school districts and the MISD to expand the Early College Program.  Also seek national government and local corporate grants to increase scholarship opportunities and subsidize 2 year degrees.  This is good for our community and our nation as a whole, as other nations have invested heavily in education and now compete at a high level with our own youth and adults for high tech and other modern jobs.

Virtual Learning:

I am satisfied as I can see that the level and quality of education is remaining thus far intact and proactively eliminates the possibility of groups spreading the virus as we have seen occur at other educational institutions.  Success metrics should include in grades, test results, and the percentage of students moving on to employment and/or university programs versus prior years.   Cost measured as a function of these results and real expenditures divided across the student body.

Tuition Free Community College:

Yes, we are living in a global marketplace where other nations have provided free college and we now compete with these youth and adults on uneven ground.  This leaves us behind on having our citizens able to compete for the best jobs (professional, technical, and trades).   Community college is an opportunity to increase community quality of life as higher wage-earning potential translates to more local spending for business owners and an equitable world view for our students.  The board should support and pursue grants, scholarships, and federal programs to attain this goal.

Two and Four Year Degrees:

I believe our partnerships with 4 year universities is working quite well, including Wayne State University which has many classes and programs available at or near the MCC facilities.   We should collaborate and work together, leveraging our best qualities, rather than trying to replicate and spend redundantly... while making local educational opportunities part of this mix.  Disciplines offered should be driven by 2-fold demand:  the local and national jobs market, and the stated intention of students as they enter their sophomore year.

Education is the mainstay of better opportunities for our families and our future leaders.