I've been interested in teaching and education policy for nearly three decades. My background includes degrees in Political Science, Education and Operations Research (see Quantitative Course Descriptions) from MIT and UC Berkeley. I taught high school math for a few years in the 1980's and upgraded my California teaching credential in 2005 to include an Introductory Subject Matter Authorization for Mathematics which satisfies the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) "highly qualified" teacher requirements. My article, Five Math Courses To Increase Career Options, might convince some to minor in mathematics.
In 1988, I began creating optimization models for complex domestic and cross-border tax-advantaged leveraged leases, mainly for commercial aircraft and rail equipment. I semi-retired in 1998 with a lot less than one million dollars, but enough to support my simple lifestyle. Since then, I've done some related work with Advantage For Analysts and Marshall Johnson. I've also written several personal finance articles and provided quantitative consulting to Beth Kobliner, the author of Get a Financial Life.
Personal - I live in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. I'm straight, single, child-free and don't smoke, drink alcohol or misuse drugs. I have an interest in philosophical Taoism, but no religious affiliations. I usually don't specify a political party when registering to vote. In March 2007, I switched from Windows to Ubuntu Linux.