My Story

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh PA.   After graduating from Penn Hills High School, I attended Juniata College where I played football and majored in  Biology.  I then earned a masters degree from Boston University and started my career as a physical therapist.  I ended up running hospital departments and multiple clinics and also had the opportunity to teach physical therapy students at Wheeling Jesuit University.  I met my lovely wife Donna while we were both working at a hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia, about an hour west of Pittsburgh.  

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My entire youth and early adulthood, I was active in athletics - football, ice-hockey and competitive power-lifting.  As a PT, I ran sports performance programs and worked with high school, college and professional athletes.  I also trained nationally competitive bodybuilders.

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While I was teaching graduate school courses on the business of healthcare, and the US healthcare system.  I went to Law School at Duquesne University. Upon graduation I  joined a law firm in Wheeling, West Virginia.  My practice focused on healthcare matters but I had the opportunity to explore a number of other areas of law.

After five years in private practice, I joined a growing healthcare consulting firm in Pittsburgh as Vice President and Corporate Counsel.   I then moved to the same role for a firm that provided human resources technology and consulting support to companies - with my job being developing and growing our healthcare line of business.

I had the chance to work with a great team of psychologists and technology experts while developing tools to improve health system talent strategies.  After helping the owners sell the company, I spent several years on my own, providing strategic guidance to hospitals and physician groups.  During this time, I continued to create and deploy physician leadership programs for groups and health systems.

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Most recently,  I had the opportunity to serve as CEO of a large medical group.  We deployed every lesson about team and connection I'd ever learned and taught.  We built an amazing culture that achieved all of our business goals.  We  proved that mindful leadership works!  We talked a lot about relationships, passion, fun, connection, team, communication and caring for each other.  Eventually I helped the group prepare to sell to a large health system and then guided that integration.  A big part of my career has involved supporting the success of physicians.

I've had several careers.  I've been a CEO, attorney, health care administrator, sales executive, strategic advisor, educator, leadership trainer, consultant and physical therapist.  I've been involved in the growth and sale of  three mid-sized companies.

I've published articles on healthcare strategy, healthcare law, and human resources.  I still speak to groups on the concept of building effective teams. 

Over the past twenty-five years, I've been exploring and studying yoga and mindfulness-based meditation -eventually earning teaching certificates in both.  I've also had a constant interest in Buddhism and the evolution of consciousness.    As my schedule allows, I teach yoga and meditation, including to youth groups and cancer patients.

Despite all of the tools and advantages I've had in life, as I hit 50, my physical and emotional well-being became issues.  I reached a point of hopelessness. I was lucky enough to be guided to the right people and strategies to dig out of a pretty deep hole.  In doing so, I began to study the concepts more deeply and landed on an approach to my life that became the foundation of a new path.  Today at 61, I'm healthier and happier than I've ever been - but I still need to work at it!

I developed a structured approach to doing the work of living, based on ancient wisdom and modern scientific research into longevity, brain health, joy and emotional wellness.  My goal is to share my lessons and present a roadmap for taking ownership over your joy.

Currently I live in the lovely town of  Lancaster, Pennsylvania with my wife and our dogs.