I have been a history teacher at Chariho Regional High School since 1988. I am also President of the Rhode Island Council for Social Studies and the Historian for the Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society in Coventry RI. I also served on the Board of Directors for the South County History Center (previously known as the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society) in Kingston RI, and I was also the chairman for the Historic District Commission for the Town of Coventry, Rhode Island. I serve on Rhode Island History and Social Studies Advisory Committee for the Rhode Island Department of Education, where we are developing new standards for the teaching of history and the social sciences, I am an advisor and state coordinator for the Rhode Island Model Legislature program.
I completed my MA in History in May 2012. My thesis "As Publick As Possible: Democratic Localism and Political Economy in a Rhode Island Town Government, 1760-1820" is a study of the relationships between the local town government of South Kingstown and the provincial government of Rhode Island during the transition from British colony to early American republic. As a historian, I am particularly interested in the foundation and development of communities and their evolution vis-a-vis the influence of laws, economics and democratic institutions.
I am also a consultant and researcher for public history projects and museum exhibits.
I currently reside in West Warwick Rhode Island with my daughter, my cat and a small flock of unruly chickens, and am slowly restoring a forty-year old motorcycle to running condition.
Specialties: Colonial and Antebellum American History, Rhode Island History, History of Institutions, Politics and Government, Community Studies, Research, Curriculum Development and Implementation, Archives, and Museum Organization and Exhibitions