He has a degree in Economics from Princeton University, an MBA in Finance from Columbia University School of Business and worked on Wall Street for over twenty years in futures and foreign exchange and in domestic equities sales and trading. His first job upon graduation from college was as a professional baseball player. He pitched in the major leagues during parts of the 1981-1983 seasons for San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. A cancer survivor, he advocates on behalf of patients at medical conventions, seminars, via social media and in columns in various traditional media outlets