My Story as a Designer, Educator, and Author

Graphic Designer | Educator

I’ve been working as a graphic designer since 1991 and teaching graphic design since 2015.

My career has moved through branding, packaging, advertising, web design, creative direction, product development, education, and work-based learning. What connects all of it is the same thing that drew me to design in the first place: solving problems visually and turning ideas into something real.

Today, I teach graphic design through North Orange County ROP at Brea Olinda High School, where I am building a sequential design pathway focused on strong fundamentals, professional practice, and real-world experience.

​I also continue to design, write, develop educational projects, and stay actively involved in the creative field.

How I Got Here​

1991: Started in Graphic Design

My first hands-on experience with Adobe Photoshop came while working at a mall kiosk producing custom mugs and shirts. That experience pushed me toward graphic design as a career.

2001–2004: Formal Design Educatio

I attended The Art Institute of California – Orange County and earned a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design.

2005–2010: Experian credit bureau

I worked as a Senior Graphic Designer and later as an Interactive Art Director at Experian, including work connected to FreeCreditReport.com and other national marketing initiatives.

2015: Becoming an Educator

I began teaching graphic design through North Orange County ROP at El Dorado High School.
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Teaching quickly became more than a career change. It gave me a way to combine professional design experience with something I found equally important: helping students understand how designers actually think and work.

2018: Building Design Rescue Studio

I created Design Rescue Studio, a work-based learning program at El Dorado High School, where advanced students worked directly with real clients.

Students learned how to communicate with clients, develop concepts, critique work, manage deadlines, revise designs, produce finished pieces, and take responsibility for work that would actually be used.
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The program became a major part of my teaching philosophy and shaped the direction I wanted design education to go.

2024: Publishing The Dragon Codex

I published The Dragon Codex, a fantasy-adventure story built around graphic design concepts and creative problem-solving.

2026: A New Chapter at Brea Olinda High School

After eleven years at El Dorado High School, I moved to Brea Olinda High School to rebuild and expand its graphic design pathway.

​My goal is to create a program that develops students from their first exposure to design fundamentals through advanced professional work and, ultimately, a new work-based learning design studio.

What I’m Doing Now

My work today sits between professional design and design education.

• I teach.
• I design.
• I develop curriculum.
• I direct student creative work.
• I build programs that give young designers meaningful experience before they leave high school.
  

And I continue to learn, experiment, and create because I believe the best design teachers should still be practicing designers.

View My Work

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