He earned a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Georgia State University, a Masters degree in Mathematics from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on children’s topological thinking, culturally relevant pedagogy, and the design of microworlds and physical tools for learning mathematics and generating opportunities for authentic forms of mathematical experience. Through his teaching and research, he works to democratize access to authentic mathematical activity that honors the diversity of children’s mathematical thinking, that is both nurturing of and nurtured by intellectual agency, and that is guided by self-directed inquiry, mathematical play, and the having of wonder-ful ideas.