I am a distance learning professional. Having spent the greater part of my career with Pearson Education, I moved to the Midwest along with my partner. As a trained political scientist, and more broadly a social scientist, I enjoy learning about people, history, and the way we engage with one another. I read lots; books are my weakspot. I must be surrounded by them. Being a distance learning professional, I’ve tried the ebook readers and just can’t do it. So, I am in the middle – where most are.

I grew up in South Coast Massachusetts where there is a large concentration of Portuguese-American communities. My parents were born in the spectacularly beautiful Azores. I consider Massachusetts my home although I don’t foresee my going back to live there, not for a long time at least. I did all my formal education in Massachusetts: high school; B.A. at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; M.A. at Boston College; and Ph.D. at Boston University. Many of my former instructors are well-known in their fields: Howard Wiarda, David Scott Palmer, Kay Schlozman, John Gerring, and Richard Wightman Fox. Recently, I have taken an interest in the area of systems thinking which approaches public-related problems from multiple angles. My dissertation examines a contemporary foreign policy episode - the U.S. response to the Haitian political crisis of 1991-1994 - and uses a similar approach: a constraints framework.

Music is important to me. As an undergraduate student, I spent a great deal of time attending classical music concerts and recitals. Some of my most cherished memories are those I spent with my friend, Andrea, in the conservatory practice rooms. The music of Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Prokofiev, and few others speak to me. I taught myself how to play the piano. Practice is very important although I find it harder to find the time.

Thank you for reading! And welcome!