Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, I hold an Advertising Art and Graphic Design Diploma from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. My passion for video and film production lead to a paid position creating community television programs at MacLean Hunter Cable Television in 1991. Higher education followed with a City and Guilds diploma in Video and Television Production, followed by a post-graduate diploma in Film Production from Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK. I spent almost ten years out of Canada, working in England and Los Angeles writing and directing drama shorts, music videos and commercials (plus numerous crew positions on feature films and television programs). My work, which includes working for the BBC, EMI and Miramax, has been screened at top festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Critical acclaim has come from Empire Magazine, Total Film Magazine and Fox Television. Over the last decade I have been nominated and won numerous awards for screenwriting short films and features. In November 2004, I moved to back to Canada and have been teaching in the film production program at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. In 2005, I created the Make It Short Film Project which has attracted top industry support from Academy Award winners, Paul Haggis, Denys Arcand and Roger Corman. This includes presenting professional, educational and fun film workshops at film festivals, media colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada.