I was born and raised in Upstate New York but graduated from Haines City, Florida High School. I enlisted in the US Navy in 1987 and was commissioned as a Navy Nurse Corps Officer in 1994, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 2007. I have achieved the following degrees: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (1994) at Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina; Master of Science in Nursing (1997) at University of South Alabama; PhD Educational Leadership (2018) at Keiser University.