Before joining the Department, he was a staff attorney for the Iowa Court of Appeals, a staff attorney in Iowa Legal Aid’s Waterloo office, and law clerk to Justice James H. Carter of the Supreme Court of Iowa. He is a member of the National Council of State Education Attorneys, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the National Association of Counsel for Children. He was appointed by Chief Justice Marsha Ternus to the state’s Children’s Justice State Council and is a board-certified Child Welfare Law Specialist. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University; his law degree, with highest distinction, from The University of Iowa College of Law; and a master’s degree in education leadership from Lehigh University.