Profile Information
Location
Blackwood, NJ
Country
United States
Postal Code
08012
What is it you do for a living? (Parenting, volunteering, CEO of social service organization, etc.)
High School Special Education History Teacher, Motivational Speaker and Owner of Relentless Pursuit LLC, Leadership Development Advisor, Mentor
What organization(s) do you volunteer or work for?
Glassboro High School Leadership Development Club
What is your interest in PACEs and resilience science?
At age 7, I had all 10 ACE's, by age 12 I was an alcoholic, doing drugs, breaking and entering into homes and ended up in jail by the end of my freshman year of high school. I struggled with mental health issues since age 6 and kept silent for over 30 years, I had thought that "Staying Silent Was Safe", I was wrong! . I struggled in school, I had a 1.3 GPA and 510 on the SAT going into my junior year of high school missing 300 days of school coming from a family with a history of high school drop outs. I was inspired and motivated by my teachers, coaches and community members and was able to qualify for an full athletic scholarship to Rutgers to play football by the end of my senior year. I played 2 Division 1 sports at Rutgers becoming the only person to graduate high school and college from my family. I had more set backs after graduating from college and beginning my high school teaching career. Alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction and my mental health was controlling my life for several years and it looked like I was facing a life of hopelessness and early death. then something happened and I transformed my life and my body going from a 305lb defensive tackle at Rutgers to a 160lb triathlete. I went from Addict to Ironman Athlete. If you are interested in hearing the full story feel free to contact me for a speaking engagement on my journey, ACEs and how to overcome!
If you're part of a community-based PACEs initiative, which one?
I would like to start a community-based ACEs initiative in Southern New Jersey. I'd like to get involved with a local community-based ACEs initiative.