For much of my career, three things have filled my life: education, travel, writing and photography.

My career as an educator began in the Canadian Arctic where I taught in a remote Inuit village of about 220 people.  I was one of only two English speakers in the village and while adjusting to the isolation and the culture of a people a mere one time zone away from home.  I taught all subjects -- everything from English and Math to Gym, Art and Dental Hygiene -- to a group of 8 students ranging in age from 10 to 19.  I was daily challenged by the kids to answer the question, “Why are we here?”  I refused to give the simple (BS) answer of, “To help you get a job” and was consequently engaged in one of the most stimulating and impactful conversations of my life for the two years we were together.

From there I completed a Master of Arts degree in Canadian Literature and moved to Japan where again I was immersed in a stimulating and enlightening cross-cultural environment.  For eight years, I taught English to Japanese people aged 8 to 85.  (Really! No wordplay here, the 85-year-old was an energetic traveller who was ever ambitious to get out there whether it was Laos, Paris or anywhere in between.)  I taught in junior high schools, conversation school and a university as well but spent the bulk of my time at KPMG in Osaka where I taught advanced business English communication and trained the partners and senior staff in the cross-cultural skills required to succeed when doing business abroad.

Throughout those travels and subsequent ones my pen and camera have been near at hand while I have try to capture the experiences of encountering the total silence and isolation of the untouched tundra and the surreal cinematic moment of jogging through an autumnal red river valley with mists drowsily rising off the waters as a haunting bamboo flute lowed and echoed around me.

In Calgary I have continued to ply my craft as a facilitator and trainer and have had opportunity to use my vast cross-cultural experience to help people broaden their horizons or achieve their aspirations for themselves and their families.  The University of Calgary gave me the opportunity to develop and facilitate language classes from professionals from around the world and when they asked me to go to Iran to deliver a course to professional engineers working toward Masters’ degrees in Project Management, I leaped at the opportunity to bridge the gaps between cultures (and of course take my eyes and words to new destinations.)

I continue to fuse these passions whenever and wherever I can.  I regularly teach digital photography at the University of Calgary, blog voraciously on a number of interests and I am always seeking fresh ideas and new approaches to addressing our needs and better ways to solve problems.

Thanks for visiting. Drop me a line if anything catches your eye or your imagination.