In Cave Creek, I previously served on the Town Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, and the Board of Adjustment from 1991 to 1999, and was the first voter-elected Mayor in 1996. During that time, I was also the Town’s Regional Council member at the Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG). I returned to the Town Council in December 2022.

My career has been dedicated to government affairs and legislative advocacy at both the federal and Arizona state levels, across the public and private sectors. Originally from Washington, D.C., I worked on Capitol Hill, at the White House Office of Management & Budget, and in the Legislative Affairs office of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where I produced the radio program “Washington Dial” in the 1970s.

I hold a BA in Journalism from George Washington University, an MA in Journalism from the University of Arizona, and I am a PhD/DPA candidate (ABD) in Public Administration from Arizona State University. I also hold Certificates in Public Management from both ASU and the University of Arizona. My professional training includes the Executive Leadership Training Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Strategic Leadership for State Executives program at Duke University’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

A resident of Cave Creek for 43 years, I am a 1998 National Toll Fellow for the Council of State Governments (CSG), a Valley Leadership Class X graduate, and a former appointee to the Maricopa County Judiciary Advisory Council. From 2021 to 2023, I served on the CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts Technical Assistance panel.

Now retired, my most recent role was as a state regulatory director appointed by Governor Doug Ducey in 2019. My prior state service includes positions as Chief of Administration for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office under Grant Woods, and in Legislative Affairs for the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona State Retirement System. My work at the Arizona Capitol began in 1976 as a Senate legislative intern.