I bring a combination of professional expertise, executive leadership and personal commitment to Stamford Public Schools. For more than 26 years, I have worked as a corporate attorney and executive officer at public companies, managing a 100-person department to budget and guiding complex issues to resolution. That experience has taught me how to find consensus among differing viewpoints, apply discipline and transparency to decision-making, and keep organizations accountable.

Closer to home, my wife and I chose Stamford in 2007 so that our two children could attend Stamford’s public schools, and they both recently graduated from Stamford High (SHS ’24 and ’21, respectively) after attending Dolan and Stark. I’ve seen firsthand the strengths and challenges of the system. In addition, I served on Stamford’s Board of Ethics from 2014 to 2017, where I worked to ensure fairness, integrity and trust in city government.

In the next few years, the Board of Education will hire a new superintendent and oversee major school construction projects. Stamford needs Board members who combine legal acumen, executive experience and a deep personal investment in our schools. I believe my background equips me to serve effectively and to strengthen public confidence in the Board’s work.

The superintendent is the most important hire our city will make for the schools in the foreseeable future. I believe SPS needs a leader with a vision for excellence, someone who can set clear, measurable goals and be fully transparent with the community about progress through data. The right superintendent should be a strong communicator and collaborator, working in true partnership with the Board of Education, teachers, families and students.

At the same time, the superintendent should arrive with curiosity and humility, taking the time to understand what’s already working in SPS and where change is needed. Finally, we need a leader with a demonstrated ability to serve a diverse student population effectively, ensuring every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to succeed.

My two children graduated from Stamford High School in 2024 and 2021, respectively, after having attended Stark and Dolan. They had great (though not perfect) experiences with SPS. However, many children do not have good experiences, and this is what we must strive to remedy. Thus, the issue that I would identify as the most critical is the persistent achievement gap, especially for economically disadvantaged students, multi-lingual learners and students with special needs.

SPS has made progress: test scores in reading and math have improved, and new curricula and intervention programs are helping. Yet, economically disadvantaged students, multi-lingual learners and students in special education are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks at the same rate as their peers. Also, out-of-district special education costs are rising, which suggests some students are not getting the support they need within our schools.

The solutions I would propose are as follows:

1. Strengthen In-District Special Education and Multi-Lingual-Learner Support: expand specialized staff in every school, create resource hubs for higher-need students, and improve local services so fewer students are placed out-of-district.

2. Prioritize Differentiated and Individualized Instruction: support teaching with training, resources, and accountability, and use formative assessments consistently to close learning gaps early.

3. Align Budget and Policy with Educational Priorities: direct resources toward staff, training, and materials, and ensure transparent reporting so the community can track progress.

4. Engage Families, Teachers, and Community in Co-Design: strengthen culturally responsive supports, provide communication and training for families, and incorporate teacher input into policy and implementation.