I was born in San Francisco , California , but grew up in a suburb of Seattle . As a child I played baseball and soccer; one of my hobbies was collecting Garbage Pail Kids (I'm kind of a pack rat so I still have them). In junior high I was involved in choir, drama and tennis.

In high school I continued to play tennis and also fell in love with snowboarding. After graduating from high school, I went to BYU for a year before serving in the Colorado Denver North Mission. Serving a mission was the best decision I have ever made. Some people might say, “Hey, wasn't the decision to marry Lani the best choice you ever made?” –But if I hadn't served a mission, marrying Lani wouldn't have even been an option.

When I returned to BYU, I studied Business Management. At the same time I took some classes to be a seminary teacher. I fell in love with teaching and when I graduated from BYU I was hired by the Church Educational System as a full time seminary teacher. 

Since then I have taught seminary in Oregon , institute in Boston , and coordinated the seminary and institute programs in Miami . I love it. Along the way I earned a Masters in Education from Harvard University. Some of the best parts of my year are participating in the Especially For Youth and Education Week programs.

I have a great family! I married the marvelous Lani Olsen and we have three wonderful children. We enjoy weekly family activities such as going to the park, beach, zoo and our favorite destination is Disney World!

I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and know that this is the true church. This knowledge has been a source of stability and strength to me throughout my life.