How long have you worshiped at Saint Philip’s?
Our family first came for the Christmas pageant two years ago—in 2023.

How’d you find your way here?
My wife, Laura, was raised in the Roman Catholic church and I was raised Presbyterian and Lutheran. We wanted to find a place to bridge the gap between our two upbringings; we wanted to find a church for us as a couple and as a family.

It’s important to us to put down layers of a foundation here so our children will experience what it means to be a family that is guided by faith and religion.

One of the biggest things we looked for was programming for our two boys. And then we experienced Mtr Taylor and learned what was available through CYFM.

You belong to a variety of communities. What makes the church community unique?
It’s unlike anything else. I once had a college roommate who grew up in East Germany—with a very secular upbringing. He found no utility in religion but appreciated having Christian roommates. His experience was that things tended to go a little better when rooming with Christians. I’ve always thought there’s something to that.

I grew up in a community in North Dakota where the question wasn’t, “Do you go to church?” but, rather, “Where do you go to church?” The entire town shut down on Wednesday nights. Sports practices ended early because coaches would say it’s time to go to church.

The pews were full and youth groups were bursting. That played a huge role in my life, especially as a teenager. I want the church to be that same presence for our children as they grow up.

What about Saint Philip’s appeals to you?
I really like that people aren’t afraid to delve into the unknown. For a faith so steeped in tradition and ritual, it’s surprising to experience such openness to explore new ideas proposed by parishioners.

My experience here is that there isn’t the usual wall that often exists in organizations and groups. No one has said that Laura or I can’t be involved because we haven’t been here long enough.

We feel exceptionally welcomed and very much a part of what’s going on. We’ve been invited to jump in and participate as much as we like.

How are you involved in the parish?
I’m on the search committee for Saint Philip’s new Rector.

As a family we’re involved with CYFM (Children, Youth, and Family Ministry). That’s a huge part of what we do at Saint Philip’s. In fact, Laura now teaches Sunday School.

Laura and I are both involved with Creation Care. The Great Window project is a current initiative and last year’s Cooling Our Neighborhood effort was a great example of how to form bonds with the wider community.

What was the Cooling Our Neighborhood project?
You can read details about that by clicking here. It was exciting to dig trenches and do manual labor with parishioners from Saint Philip’s and with families whose kids attend Prince Elementary School.

That’s where I think things really come alive. We formed bonds by working side-by-side to achieve a wonderful outcome together.

Prior to that project, I’d never set foot on the school’s campus. And now when I drive by I remember the families I worked with. There’s such value in that type of outreach.

What do you do professionally?
I’m an emergency medicine and sports medicine physician. I work at two emergency rooms: the Tucson VA Medical Center and at a civilian hospital in Florence. I also have my own sports medicine practice here in Tucson.

How are you able to do all that?
The sports practice is one day a week. The challenge is that I’m still on call 24/7. We don’t have emergencies per se in that field but I still have to be responsive to things that come up between successive Tuesdays. I manage to make it work.

How did your private practice come about?
I’ve had a lot of jobs in the health care sector from working as a dietary aide who delivered meals to being an emergency medical technician to being a medical assistant. I had a lot of random jobs, too.

When I sat down and looked at how a clinic operates, I realized I’d done most of the necessary jobs. Now I do the physician’s job so I figured I’d give it a go and start my own practice.

I had no intention of hanging a shingle. My plan was to join an existing practice but, for one reason or another, that didn’t work out. So here I am.

I think it makes me a better doctor and a better team player. All that experience helps when things break down and someone needs to step in and take care of things—including fixing the fax machine or printer!

What is the focus of your sports medicine practice?
We saw a need in the field of concussions and traumatic brain injury. In Tucson, for example, injured workers who receive worker’s compensation care have very few options. And head injuries happen all the time.

What’s a belief you’ve let go of?
That changes have to be made quickly. ER physicians have a well-earned stereotype for not being patient. We have to “do” and move on quickly.

What I’ve come to realize professionally and personally is that there are times when gradual change is better. Big changes can be made more smoothly and leave people happier—and achieve the same outcome—when they’re made gradually, rather than abruptly.

I’ve learned that even though I’m comfortable getting from Point A to Point B very quickly, most of the world isn’t. And that’s ok. It’s good to find the balance between pushing the envelope and allowing change to unfold incrementally.

How do you feel about change?
I regularly think about how something might be better or find myself dreaming about what could be.

It’s not dissatisfaction that drives that. It’s more that I live in a space that gets excited about the new and what is possible.

Is there a place that had a particular impact on you?
Spain.

I lived there for my junior year in college. I had no idea what that decision to study in Spain would mean to me. That experience was a pivotal time in my life.

The environment was completely different from anything I knew, and I didn’t speak the language very well. And at 6’3” and 200 pounds I definitely didn’t blend in outside of the Basque Country. So culturally, linguistically, and physically, I was out of my element.

How did that experience form you?
As quickly as I like to move now, I’m still more patient than I used to be!

My patience increased exponentially after living in Spain for a year. I dealt with the banking system, the university bureaucracy, the immigration office—systems that moved forward at their own pace with no regard to my timeline.

I learned to slow down and enjoy life. You can’t spend that much time in a culture happily without changing, and then taking home what you’ve learned. My time in Spain has helped me avoid the temptation to become a workaholic.

And getting to be in Spain with Laura—who was my girlfriend and is now my wife…well, that continues to reverberate through my life to this day.

What’s a lesson you have to keep learning?
Not to over commit myself.

I’ve come to a point in my life where I have this figured out. But it took a few oopsies along the way to get where I am now.

What do you do to relax/replenish yourself?
Get outside. Our family loves to hike and camp. I can’t think of a single time I’ve done either and regretted it. Being in nature always provides a healthy reset.

What’s one of your core values?
Honor. It really informs a lot of my decision making and how I conduct myself.

I’m very proud to serve at the VA, and I’m inspired by my Veteran colleagues and patients and who live by an honor code that is really stout.

When people adhere to honesty, respect, and integrity, everything falls in line.

What’s one of your guiding principles?
That lots of experiences I have now will be those I most cherish years later—even if I don’t know it at the time.

For example, I think about the time with my grandparents and the small, everyday decisions I made about going to visit them. I would take Daniel to have dinner with my grandpa, for example, after visiting my grandma when she was in memory care.

At the time those visits seemed relatively insignificant, but I wouldn’t trade for the world the time I spent with them. Understanding that helps me be more present now.

What’s one of your super powers?
I function well in chaos. When it’s truly chaotic I enter a different zone.

A lot of people think it’s an adrenaline rush but that’s a misconception. It’s actually that the world slows down and things look and move differently. I’m able to pay attention to what’s in front of me while keeping track of everything around me, too. I function differently.

I don’t think my profession has created that. I think that those of us who like that environment naturally gravitate to professions where ordering chaos is a welcome challenge. My natural tendencies have only gotten stronger with training and experience.

What would you do if you had more time?
My wife’s family introduced me to the poet John O’Donohue. He was a Roman Catholic priest who died very young. But before he died, he blessed the world with this wisdom and poetry.

In one of his interviews he talked about time falling through our hands like sand going through fingers. We can’t grab on to it; no matter how hard we try, the sand still falls through.

So when I think about the question of having more time, part of me wonders if it really matters.

More practically, I ask myself what I will do when I retire—or at least not earning a salary. I think I’d become a builder for Habitat for Humanity.

It would be a wonderful way to work outside, stay fit, and give back to the world. I’m inspired by Jimmy Carter.

What’s something about you that friends have said they really appreciate?
My honesty. And more recently, some of those elements of living honorably.

I’ve noticed this in coaching Little League baseball. Not everyone in the sports world is honest. Not everyone plays or wants to play a clean game—even at the youth level.

Friends who coach with me have expressed appreciation for my dedication to sportsmanship. The litmus test for an action is often, “Is this the honorable thing to do?”

What might people be surprised to learn about you?
Most people are surprised to learn that I’m a physician. Around here they usually think I’m in construction—which makes me happy.

You took your own kitchen down to the studs. Where did you learn construction?
Most of what I know I learned from building houses on mission trips. And my father-in-law is a career master builder. He spent his whole career in commercial construction so he’s a wealth of knowledge and skill. I’ve learned from people like him who are masters of their craft.

What have I not asked that you would like readers to know?
My family and I are really glad we found Saint Philip’s. We struggled to find a church that felt right. We look forward to forging friendships by working side-by-side and doing the good work that Christ calls us to do.

What’s a fun fact about you?
I used to be a mariachi musician.

Please say more about that!
Despite my profession, I wasn’t a science major. I studied Spanish so I hung out with the humanities folks.

I attended Northern Arizona University and two Spanish professors, Roberto Carrasco and Florencia Riegelhaupt, had an NAU Mariachi group that invited anyone who wanted to play. We had full mariachi outfits and played gigs in Flag.

I intended to be a vocalist but there wasn’t a brass player so they told me to play my trombone. I was the only brass instrument but it was good enough with me reading treble cleff violin music and playing it on the trombone.

We showed up, played, and did our best. It was a great time and lots of fun.

The high school kids here in Tucson are phenomenal; they play at a professional level. That wasn’t quite us but we had a great time.