I was raised in Virginia and Pennsylvania. I put myself through college on scholarships and by working multiple jobs. I attended VMI and U.VA., then joined the Air Force, was stationed in Florida at Patrick AFB where I worked as a launch officer on the Minuteman program and participated in over 50 launches. This developed the Minuteman I and II program of multiple vehicle entry of thermonuclear weapons that has kept this nation safe since the 60s. After the USAF, I joined IBM, worked on the Saturn V Moon Rocket launch. This was the rocket that put the man on the moon. Then I returned to school at the U. PA Wharton School where I earned a Ph.D. in Economics.

For a career, I worked as an engineer, engineering manager and executive – including CEO. As a manager, I brought many products to market such as the IBM Point of Sale Systems; TELXON hand held computers; Honeywell X.25 packet switching system, TENERON encrypting modems and California Microwave’s IEEE 802.11 wireless Point of Sale systems. I worked high tech and state of the art because I understood and enjoyed high tech. The technology was always changing and challenging. I gained enough knowledge that I started and ran my own consulting company, Raven Communications, and ran it for 10 years.

Finally, I rejoined IBM as a Global Services Competency Principal for Communications, Security and Business Resiliency. IBM calls mainframe back up “business resiliency”. I worked with large financial institutions in the financial sector across a 13 state region in the Midwest. I am current in communications systems, networks and security systems.