It is a great pleasure to be teaching at Northern Virginia Community College. I am a strong believer in the importance of community colleges, and I look forward to working with NOVA students to achieving their career goals.

I have been teaching Western civilization and U.S. history courses at the college level since 2005. Most of these courses have been online and typically have had a majority of non-traditional, part-time students. Distance learning offers a great opportunity for students, and it will continue to expand in the future.

History has been my passion since elementary school. I enjoy anything which deals with history from antiquity to the twentieth century. Even my hobbies, such as numismatics, reflect this interest.

However, for much of my career I have been engaged in public policy. I have served in three presidential administrations. Most recently, I was Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education.

My background and knowledge of history have been a tremendous aid to me in conducting business in the public arena. I hope to help students to draw a link between history, even ancient history, and the contemporary world. I want to encourage students to enjoy history and its great stories.