He earned his doctorate in English Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2005. His own M.S.Ed. comes from Bank Street College in New York City, and he earned his B.A. at Amherst College, where he majored in both Philosophy and English. As an alumnus of private institutions, he has now taught in public schools and colleges for more than 25 years. This marks his seventh year at SUNY Plattsburgh, after teaching middle- and high-school students in NYC, college students at CCNY, and inmates on Rikers Island.