Who is this guy?
What did you do before CART?
The bulk of my professional experience is in casino gaming, technology, marketing and graphic design. After college, I joined Park Place Entertainment, now part of Caesars Entertainment, as the Public Relations and Design Manager for the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. In that role, I was responsible for developing the property’s advertising, creative materials, and media content. My work included graphic design and producing promotional materials that supported the casino’s overall brand and marketing strategy.
A few years later, I was recruited to become the Marketing Manager at the River Palms Casino. I was part of a team tasked with improving the property’s profitability and positioning it for a successful sale. I oversaw creative development, graphic design, advertising and media buys, and worked closely with the entertainment side of the business. This role allowed me to combine creative design with strategic marketing and business decision-making.
Following a successful run at River Palms, I was recruited again—this time to help open Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California. I moved back to California and spent approximately a year working with the team to prepare the new resort and casino for its grand opening. Opening a property from the ground up gave me valuable experience in developing marketing systems, creative assets, branding, and promotional strategies in a fast-paced environment.
My next step in the gaming industry took me to Porterville, California, where I became the Marketing Director at Eagle Mountain Casino. I oversaw the entire marketing department as well as several important areas of the casino’s operations, including the bus program, entertainment, Players Club, and gift shop. I was responsible for coordinating marketing campaigns, creative and graphic design, promotions, customer loyalty initiatives, and entertainment.
In addition to my gaming and marketing background, I have continued to develop my skills in graphic design, coding, and technology. Graphic design has been a consistent part of my career, from creating advertising and promotional materials to developing visual branding and digital content. My experience with coding has expanded my ability to approach projects from both a creative and technical perspective, including developing digital projects, solving technical problems, and understanding how technology can be used to improve communication and engagement.
TLDR? I get it but I wanted to be real
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work at the intersection of technology, design, marketing and leadership. My experience ranges from hands-on creative production and coding to managing large marketing operations, opening a new casino property, developing customer loyalty programs, coordinating entertainment, and creating strategies designed to increase revenue and profitability. That combination of creative, technical, and business experience has shaped the way I approach projects and solve problems today.
After the birth of my first child, my priorities began to shift. I wanted to spend more time with my family, so I decided to leave the casino industry and transition into the nonprofit sector. I joined United Way Fresno and Madera County as the Chief Technology Officer, but eventually left to start my own business, Danger Baby LLC. Through the company, I imported promotional products from factories in China and sold them to casinos across the country.
Although the business was successful, I soon realized that running my own company was taking me away from my family more than I wanted. I made the difficult decision to close the business and return to United Way.
While at United Way, one of my responsibilities was organizing job fairs. I had never organized a job fair before—and honestly, I had barely even attended one—so I decided the best way to learn was to see how others did it. I began attending job fairs throughout the area, observing how they were organized and talking with employers about participating in the events I was planning.
One of the organizations I connected with was Fresno Unified School District. While speaking with one of their recruiters, we started talking about our backgrounds and experiences. During the conversation, she told me that she thought I might make a good teacher and asked if teaching was something I had ever considered.
I hadn’t, but the conversation stuck with me.
Two weeks later, I was teaching information technology and digital arts at Gaston Middle School in Fresno, California.
What started as an unexpected career change quickly became a career I loved. After five successful years teaching middle school, I moved to the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis, California, where I now teach Interactive Game Design (IGD).
How Did I GET THERE?
Gavilan College
AA Liberal Arts
Cal State Monterey Bay
BA Human Communication
Concentration in Media Studies
West Texas A&M
MA Instructional Design and Technology
Concentration in Media Studies
So who REALLY is this guy?
The real
I have been playing video games my entire life. I was lucky enough to have a stepdad who was an early adopter of video games so there was always a console at my home. I remember playing Gen 1 Pong on a black and white TV! From there I went to Atari, Intellivision, NES, Super NES, Game Cube, Playstation, PS2, PS3, OG Xbox, Xbox 360, PS4, PS5, Wii, Wii U, Xbox S and most of the hand helds
Values
Curiosity, Truth, Growth, Commitment, Effort
Effort in my classroom is the most important key to success. We are all starting at different points in this one year journey but our goals are all the same, improve.