My academic, technical and reading experience is extensive and varied. I am currently working to complete a PhD in American Studies. I have worked in IT with several major corporations for the past thirty-five years, and my avocational pursuits keep me close to literature, philosophy, and film - topics that engage and challenge my deepest thoughts. Arriving in the area in 1979, I had first undertaken tutoring students for the GED. Subsequently, I taught COBOL programming at a local business col