A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colorado College, he received his MFA in Child Drama from Arizona State University. Currently a Fellow in the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, he was the recipient of the Charles Deering McCormick Professorship for Excellence in Teaching. A long time Illinois Theatre Association member, he is also a Trustee of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America, and an active member of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. As the immediate past president of AATE, he works with an international community of artists, educators, and scholars to champion the cause of drama and theatre in the lives of young people.